Enraptured in Ice
by KibaElunal
Summary: At the height of Overwatch's thirty years of service, many members were dedicated to using science to seek out solutions to Earth's growing problems. One such scientist is Mei Ling Zhou who in an emergency placed herself and her crew into cryostasis. However, something went wrong and five years later she is revived by Winston's young lab assistant, eager to prove himself. (Lemons)
1. Chapter 1

Enraptured in Ice Ch. 1

AN: So I've developed something of an Overwatch addiction lately. In case you couldn't tell, I main Mei, and I like to think I'm pretty good with her. For those of you who don't know me, I also have quite a bit of League of Legends fanfiction, and for those of you who do, thank you for continuing to support my work. I hope you all enjoy. -Kiba

Wrapping her arms around herself, Mei's boots sank further into the Antarctic snow. All around her, the wind whipped up the snow like desert sands, but even still through the darkness she could see Watchpoint: Antarctica. The center was one of many opened to study the insane climate changes that had plagued the earth recently. "Tài lěngle!" she complained, bracing herself against the storm and turning her head to avoid the stinging ice and snow.

"Professor Zhou!" A voice called to her, barely muffled by the wind. "Professor! Where are you?!"

"I'm here!" she shouted back, digging her heels into the soft powder so that she could push forward. Just as she was within twenty meters of the entrance, she collapsed to her knees, exhausted from having to battle the tempestuous winds. It wasn't long, however, that she felt the warmth of two bodies pressed against hers as they lifted her to her feet, helping her to the lab.

As the doors closed behind them, she waved off the other two scientist. "Ma'am? Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine," she tried to assure them pulling back her hood. Shaking the downy flakes from her beautiful brown hair, she pulled out the item she'd gone searching for: an injector gun and five vials of nanotech. "I got them," she grinned.

"Thank the Iris!" Another scientist declared, bringing her a fresh bowl of hot soup.

"The Iris?" she asked. Gratefully taking the soup, she sipped from it carefully, enjoying the way it sent warmth through her body. "I've heard the name before, but I'm afraid I'm not familiar with it."

The researcher seemed embarrassed. "It's a newer movement," she explained scratching the back of her head. "I've always hated this stupid Omnic conflict. Everyone blames them for the climate going to hell!"

"Well, that's why we're here, isn't it?" Mei reminded her, gently. "In my homeland, we have a saying: 'rén zūnxún yǔ shí jù jìn, hé shuǐ cháoliú.'"

The others simply stared at her. "Ma'am, none of us speak Chinese."

"Oh! Sorry. It means 'Man follows the times, and water flows with the tide.' Things will change. No war lasts forever." Off to the side, a console began to blip madly, alerting them. Standing up, Mei looked to see that the screen flashed red. The signal to Watchpoint: Gibraltar had been cut off for some time and despite their attempts, they hadn't been able to reconnect. This was their latest and possibly their last one. "That's not good," she sighed.

One of the researchers began to type wildly across the keys, inserting commands in an attempt to get communications back online. "Damn this blizzard," he growled, slamming his fist down on the keyboard when his attempts proved futile. Turning back to her, he frowned. "Professor Zhou, what do we do?"

Silently, all eyes turned to her. She had a hard choice to make. They were running out of supplies and with this blizzard having raged for weeks, there was no telling if Overwatch would come to their rescue before they all starved to death. That was the reason she'd set out for the injector in the first place.

Their contingency plan relied on them using cryostasis, a process that was still very unreliable in terms of effectiveness. As the head researcher, she had to come to a decision and it was not one she made lightly. "Okay, listen up everyone! I'll set the computer to send the information along with a distress beacon the moment it comes back online. We don't have much in the way of supplies left and if we wait until they're completely drained we may not have enough strength to survive the cryostasis. Has everyone eaten their share of their rations today?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Good." Grabbing the injector, she motioned for them to come to her. "Hold out your arms," she instructed, inserting a vial into it. "These nanobots are designed to protect our bodies from the cold. When Overwatch gets our signal, they'll be able to revive us." She knew that her words were empty. In truth, even Overwatch would struggle with the reversing process. "Each vial contains four doses and there are twenty of us. This means that as soon as your receive your injection, you need to head to a cryopod and activate it."

"Yes ma'am," they all repeated. As she walked around the circle, injecting each member's arm with the microscopic machines, she would flash them a reassuring smile. If she felt any fear, she didn't show it on her face.

One by one, the lids to the pods closed before, with a crackling sound, the members of the research team were flash frozen. As the last one got in, she looked to the final dose in the injector. Downing the last bit of her soup, she placed the needle to her arm and braced herself.

With a painful sting, the thick substance flowed into her veins, spreading throughout her entire body at an amazing rate. As promised, she remained behind for about ten minutes, programming Khione to contact Athena in Gibraltar once the weather had cleared. Standing inside of the pod, she watched as the glass closed over her.

The machine began to whir to life, the sound of various gasses and liquids combining to create the ideal reaction that would seal her body into a block of ice. The truth was, she was terrified. Her mind went back to thoughts of home in China. What would they tell her mother and father, she wondered. Just as the vapors began to pour in, the roof above the console shattered and large amounts of debris crushed the machine beneath its weight.

Their chances of rescue diminished to nearly nothing. Mei closed her eyes, praying to the universe that somehow Overwatch would find them and bring them all home. As a single tear fell from her eye, she became completely gelid, her body to be preserved by the intense cold.

* * *

Five Years Later

* * *

With a heavy grunt, Dan struggled to drag the next in a series of heavy crates from the dolly inside of Watchpoint: Gibraltar. Just as he was pulling back with all of his strength, his grip slipped and he found himself tumbling backwards into something large and hairy. Turning back to his boss, he quickly bowed his head apologizing profusely. "I am so sorry, Sir. I was just trying to move the crates as you instructed, but the dolly's hover function fizzled out so it won't come in here and…" Raising an eyebrow at him, the scientist said nothing, causing his assistant's words to simply fade away before he added one final, "sorry."

"It's fine," the large ape assured him, patting his back a little less than gently. "This cargo is extremely fragile and important, so it's better if I take it from here. Don't worry, I still have work for you, yet."

"Thank you, sir! Can I just say again that it's a real honor to…"

"Winston," he interrupted. "I'm your boss, but that doesn't mean you have to be so formal. And yes, I'm aware, you're honored, ecstatic, eager, or what was the last one you used...oh, enraptured, to work with me. We've been through this Dan. I'm glad to have the help here."

"Sorry, Winston," he muttered again, watching as the highly-intelligent primate easily carried two crates at a time. Turning from him momentarily, he took a look at his work desk, seeing a small device sitting there. It was one he'd been tinkering on for some time now, especially since Overwatch had been recalled. Well, as much as they could be recalled.

Looking over his shoulder to see the ape lost in his own thoughts, he picked up the soldering iron and began to examine the device carefully. As he began to make minute adjustments, a voice whispered into his ear. "Whatcha doin'?"

He leapt nearly a foot in the air, quickly ensuring that the hot iron that was in his hands didn't land onto the electronic device. "God, Tracer!" He protested. "I hate it when you do that!" Slipping the iron back into its holder, he turned to face the young British pilot. With a zip of light, she vanished and reappeared on the other side of the table, her chin perched in her palm as she rested on her elbow.

"You know Winston doesn't like it when you tinker with his toys," she smirked, the impish like charms simply radiating out of her. Concern flashed across the lab assistant's face, causing her to give an excited giggle.

"Tracer, please. I am begging you. Don't tell Winston…"

"Don't tell Winston what?" he asked, lumbering in to grab another set of crates.

With a playful wink, Tracer turned back to the scientist. "Why, he told me that he'd managed to find the problem with that shield generator of yours. Isn't that right, love?"

Winston's head swiveled in an instant as he gave a huff. Swinging from his tire, he landed with a heavy thud beside his assistant before shooing him away to take a look. "What in the Iris did you do to my device?" He asked, carefully checking the calibrations. Activating it, the thing released a large energy dome around them, causing Tracer's grin to grow even larger.

"I...erm...I adjusted the diaphragm of the energy conflux to .83 instead of .8. I also found a few soldering points that could use some touching up that you didn't…" Again, his words trailed away as the intimidating ape looked down on him. "Sorry, sir."

".03," he murmured, turning away from his assistant to clamber up the rope. "Athena! Care to explain to me how you neglected a 3% difference in dilation?"

"You told me to round the numbers, Winston."

"Yes, but I assumed that you would have known to use two significant digits, as I usually ask for."

"You know what they say about assumptions, Winston."

He let out a frustrated grunt, looking over the railing to look down at the two . "Good work, kid. I knew I kept you around for something."

"Tracer," Dan hissed, "what the hell?! I thought you were going to cover for me."

"Don't know what has you in such a tiff," she answered back, curiously going to inspect the cargo that rested on the back of the carrier. "You know that Winston'd never do anything to hurt you even if you did botch one of his experiments. Not severely, at least. Besides," she grinned, sitting on the dolly and crossing one leg over the other, "we all know you're a whiz with machines, love. Winston may be a genius, but even geniuses need someone to look over their work sometimes."

"Yeah, I suppose so," he replied, slightly embarrassed by her praise. "Oh! I forgot to ask. How was your trip to the museum?"

Tracer's eyes dimmed slightly as she shared a glance with Winston. "Eventful," they both answered simultaneously.

Dan quickly dropped the subject, looking to the remaining crate. "So what's in these crates anyway?" he asked.

"Hmm? Oh! Yes, those are items picked up from Watchpoint: Antarctica."

"There was a watchpoint in Antarctica?"

"Oh, yeah. You bet there was!" Tracer leapt from the cart, the excitement now back in her expressions. "They did all sorts of amazing things there, but then, suddenly, all of the researchers there just vanished in the middle of a blizzard. None were ever heard from again." She wiggled her fingers eerily before jerking her thumb back at the boxes. "Well, until we found the cryopods they were stored in and brought them back here to see if they had any good stuff on them."

"We're...grave robbing?"

Winston scowled at Tracer, quickly clambering back down to grab the final two boxes. "She's just messing with you, Dan. You should stop taking everything she says so seriously. We intend to examine them to see if they're still alive. If not, we send their bodies to their next of kin. If so, we catch them up, see what they know about their experiments." Picking up a clipboard in his massive hands, he adjusted his glasses before flipping the page over. "Says they were looking into climate control." Looking up at the dark and murky sky that seemed to loom overhead often, he frowned. "Guess they didn't find much."

"So, does that mean Dr. Ziegler is coming?" his assistant asked, hopefully.

Winston cocked a curious eyebrow at him as Dan's tormenter chimed, "I think he has something of a crush on the good doctor! That or she always brings him candy. I imagine he gets sick of bananas and peanut butter all the time."

"I do not," he protested. "I mean, I do sometimes get tired of the bananas, but I don't have a crush on her. She's just really nice is all. She lets me repair the Valkyrie suit sometimes and it amazes me to just look at it."

"You sure it's the tech and not the shape that interests you, love?" Nodding to Winston, she grinned. "See? Techy candy."

"To answer your question," Winston answered, "no, Mercy will not be joining us today. Though, she did send me this message for you."

Holding out a small screen, he pressed the play button with a massive finger, causing the image of the attractive blonde medic to appear on screen. "Hey there, Winston! I got your call about the Antarctica scientists. I'm sorry to say I won't be able to swing by for a while. I fear I've a major surgery to perform on the President of Zimbabwe, and it's going to be a doozy. However, I leave you in capable hands, none the less. Tell Dan that he needs to open the pods carefully and use the Electrosonic Radium method that I showed him how to do the last time I visited." She made sure to enunciate the instructions very clearly. "With that he'll be able to check their vitals. If they're dead, all he has to do is to melt the ice by gently running water over them until it goes away. Wish him good luck for me!" With a zip, the message closed, leaving Dan completely stunned as the British pilot clapped him on the shoulder.

"She seems to have a lot of faith in you," Tracer pointed out. "See? I keep telling you you should be more confidant. You may not be a member of Overwatch, but you're just as much a part of the team!"

Winston nodded in agreement, helping to bring the last two boxes in before setting them upright in an off-room. When he returned, he gestured his assistant towards the room. "Use whatever tools you need, but be careful. Those are still people in there. Treat them with respect."

"Yes sir," Dan quickly answered, giving a small salute before excitedly rushing to his task.

"I wish I could see such motivation when I asked him to do things," Winston grumbled.

"Ah, cheer up," Tracer replied, nudging him with her elbow. "If it helps, you did teach him everything he knows. Next thing you know, he may even start calling you, 'Dad'."

"That's not funny," he huffed, returning to investigate the shield emitter.

Closing the door behind him, Dan shivered. Winston had chilled the room to the point where his breath was fogging up in front of him. "I can't believe that Doctor Ziegler is letting me do this," he commented to the first body. Scanning it with the device just as she'd shown him, he frowned when it came back negative for signs of life.

As he held the hose up, starting from the top down to the base, he just stood there, continuing having his one-sided conversation.

"I mean, I get that I'm smart, you know? Well, I mean...that came out wrong. People tell me I'm smart, I'm not trying to be arrogant or anything. Even still, I like to think that Overwatch likes having me around, even if I wasn't smart."

Looking up into the pale lifeless face of the researcher, just now exposed, he sighed moving to the second and repeating the process to find they were also just a cadaver now.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. This isn't a club house, it's a world organization determined to right wrongs and stop evils. Or so the old stories say. I mean, I was pretty young when they were really big. The golden age is almost twenty years ago now, did you know that? It's so hard to believe! I was only six years old at the time, and I remember that when I was sixteen, I was so upset after they shut down. But I mean, hey! Look at me now, talking to dead people and committing crimes against the world government like a real hero."

As the head of the researcher lulled slightly to the side, Dan scratched his chin in thought.

"Don't give me that look. I know that Tracer is the same age as me, but that doesn't mean that I could be in Overwatch. I mean, she has the ability to manipulate time. That's legitimately a super power. Like seriously, she could do so much more if she wasn't so hyper and took things seriously every now and then. I know what I'd do. I'd find out the lottery numbers then go back in time and win the lottery."

A few more cadavers later, and he was still just muttering away to himself. He only had one more left to go and at this time, he was just rambling to himself.

"I mean, sure. Tracer's cute and all, but inside she's just like a little kid! What does that say about me if I were to ask her out? Exactly! That I have a thing for little kids. See, you get it. Besides, she's exhausting just talking to. I can't imagine having to spend time with her when she's not working."

Finally, he cracked open the last cryopod, causing it to let out a hiss of icy vapors, just as the others had. Boredly, he held up the scanner, running it up and down the large block of frozen ice as it began to flash and beep rapidly. Setting it down, he went for the hose before realizing that thing had indicated vital signs.

"Holy crap…" he murmured, looking towards the block. "You're alive?" Reaching cautiously to the block, he used one gloved hand to wipe away the condensation to reveal that the ice was perfectly translucent. Standing at eye level, he looked inside and found that encased was a beautiful woman. She looked so sad, he noted, before quickly reminding himself that he was in the middle of an emergency. "Athena!" he called, causing the computer to blink on at the console next to him. "Tell Winston," he began, but stopped.

Mercy had entrusted him with this and she was very busy. But...he couldn't exactly just close the crypod again. What if she died before Mercy could get to her? "Dan?" the computerized woman asked. "You had a message for Winston?"

"No," he answered, "sorry. But can you do me a favor? Find me Doctor Ziegler's notes on restoring a human from cryostasis, please."

"Are you sure that's such a good idea?" she postulated. "Doctor Ziegler is a lot more experienced than you are at these situations. It may be best if we waited until her return."

He shook his head. "No, Athena. She told me once that major surgeries can sometimes even take days and have to be performed in shifts. This girl may not have that long."

"She's a woman, Dan."

"Thank you for that correction Athena; you know what I meant. Will you please get me the files on how to defrost her? Also, do you still have access to personnel files? Any idea who she is?"

"Following the break in recently, Winston has elected to keep that information in a more secure location. You do not have authorization to view them, Dan. I'm sorry."

"It's fine,"he answered. "I was just curious."

As the readout appeared on the large screen beside him, he had the scanner showing vital signs for the woman while he worked. First step was to thin out the ice using a laser, so he began to carve away the excess.

It surprisingly felt very therapeutic, like making an ice sculpture except, with a person inside. As water ran off to the ground below, he continued, his mind racing as to all the questions he had for her. She looked young. Maybe she was his age? How long had she been frozen? Soon, he had it so only an inch of ice surrounded the contours of her body.

He nodded his head, actually impressed with himself about a job well done. Scrolling through the instructions to the next part, it instructed for him to prepare a warm bath. "Athena," he called again.

"Did you kill her?" she asked concerned.

"What? No! She's fine. I need to know the approximate change in temperature a human body can undergo without going into shock."

"Calculating: the average change of body temperatures in humans that can cause shock is about 32 degrees Kelvin."

Looking at her vitals, I noted her skin's temperature was surprisingly warm considering the ice around it. "Athena, do a scan of her blood for me will you? Something's keeping her warm in there, some how."

"Confirmed. Presence of nanotech found. Machines have been circulating blood at a regular pace since activation. I believe that this did not occur in the others and may be the reason for their death."

"Are you able to send them instructions?"

"Affirmative."

"Tell them to start slowly increasing the temperature of her outer skin. While they do that, I'll work on removing the ice from her face. She'll need to be able to breathe once we bring her out of stasis."

"May I offer a counter proposal, Daniel?"

"Far be it from me to argue with a super computer. What did you have in mind Athena?"

"These Nanobots are very advanced. They were experimental when first developed and even now they're still cutting edge. They could simply raise the temperature of her epidermis to a level of heat to melt the ice quickly, while keeping the inner skin cool so she will not be harmed by the process."

"Can you assure me that she will be safe?"

"I'm calculating a 0.0% chance of minor injuries being sustained by the process."

"0.0%?" he asked skeptically.

There was a slight pause before Athena replied with "0.02%"

He took a deep breath. Should he speak to Winston? Maybe he would be able to recommend...He shook the thought from his head. No, if he wanted to prove that he was capable, he'd have to make the decision himself. "Go ahead," he replied. "Just know if this goes wrong, I'm going to say you told me to do it."

"That is rather cruel."

"And a joke."

"I see." After a few blips from the sensors, the ice began to simply vaporize from her skin, sublimating straight into the atmosphere.

"She's coming out of it," he whispered excitedly, watching the process unfold. "Tell them to return her skin to standard levels." With all the ice gone, she suddenly fell forward towards him. Extending his arms, Dan managed to catch her limp body. Sure enough, she was safe to the touch. Sensors indicated her heart was still beating, she was alive. But even still, she wasn't waking up. "Hello? Miss?"

He shook her gently. Now that he could see her clearly, he was stunned by just how beautiful she was. Her eyes slowly began to open with a groan as she looked up to see him standing above her. "Hmmm?" she asked sleepily. "Who are you? Why are you waking me up?"

"You've been in cryostasis. Right now you're at Watchpoint: Gibraltar."

"Gibraltar?" the woman groaned, her big eyes opening wider now as she began to wake up. Smiling at the man, she let out a sigh of relief. "I should have known that Overwatch wouldn't forget us. They saved us."

Looking over to the tables that were currently covered with the bodies of the other nineteen scientists, he shook his head. "Not everyone, and not Overwatch," he murmured. "You've been gone for a long time, miss."

"Mei…"

"No it's not May. In fact it's," he looked at his watch, "the thirteenth of January." He wanted to transition to her change in time slowly. If he just told her it'd been five years, he didn't know how she'd react.

She giggled lightly. "No. My name is Mei. M-e-i. Mei Ling Zhou. I'm a professor at Overwatch researching causes for global climate changes in Antarctica. There was a blizzard and we were running out of supplies but couldn't contact Overwatch to request more. So we froze ourselves to wait for rescue. You said that Overwatch didn't save us. Who did?"

He paused taking a deep breath. Resting his hand on hers she looked at him with those big eyes. "Mei, I'm not really sure how to tell you this," he began. "Firstly, I'm sorry to say that the others didn't survive the Cryostasis. You were the only one."

Her fingers tightened around his nervously. "All of them?" He nodded his head. "I see," she whispered with a tinge of sadness. It was obvious she was trying to put on a brave face. "Did they at least go peacefully?"

"I'm not sure," he admitted. "If it helps, they all looked very serene when I got them out of the ice." Mei said nothing, provoking him to continue. "There's more bad news, I'm afraid." She tried to sit up, causing his eyes to widen. "Whoa, whoa. Mei, you need to save your strength," he urged, putting an arm around her back to help her.

"Is this the rest of my team?" she asked, ignoring his advice and swinging her legs off the side of the table slowly to simply look at the still dressed corpses.

"Yes," Dan said, moving around the table to sit beside her. "But Mei, about Overwatch…"

"Please give me a moment," she interrupted. "I...I'm sorry. I don't mean to be rude."

"No, no! Take your time, I'm sorry," he quickly apologized, causing her to look at him surprise. "I wasn't trying to rush you. If you like, I can catch you up later. Or, if you'd like a moment alone, I can do that, too. I'm sure Winston would understand completely if…"

"Winston?" she asked in surprise. "Winston is here?"

"As is Tracer."

A sigh of relief escaped her lungs. Placing her hand over her chest, she realized that her Parka had been unzipped and opened. "Did you…?"

Dan blushed, profusely sputtering more apologies. "Y-yeah, I'm s-s-sorry. I swear I wasn't try to be pervy or anything. When I first got you out, you seemed to be having trouble breathing, so I opened it and…" he paused bowing his head, "I'm really, really sorry."

She laughed, shrugging off her coat and setting it beside her. "Sorry, I'm not laughing at you," she swore, "it's just so odd to hear someone apologize the same way I do."

"Doesn't everyone say 'sorry'?"

"Yes," she giggled. "I have the habit of apologizing many times for things. You've no need to apologize though. You saved my life, right? I'm grateful."

Dan smiled politely, pulling his gaze away from the beautiful woman to look back over the long row of metal tables. "If it helps at all, some good things have happened too while you've been asleep."

"It does help," she assured him. "Sorry, you were saying about Overwatch?"

"Right, sorry. Overwatch was disbanded, Mei. Any Overwatch activity is deemed illegal and anyone caught doing so would be arrested and prosecuted."

"What?! But...the war! The Omnecs?"

"War's over. Humanity won. As for the Omnecs...well that's a pretty hot button issue right now in regards to equality."

"So...if Overwatch doesn't exist, and sorry if this sounds rude, who are you?"

"Oh man," he chuckled nervously. "Well...where should I begin?"

"Your name," she suggested playfully.

"Oh, right. Sorry." He offered her his hand to shake with a gentle smile. "I'm Daniel McQueen. Most people just call me Dan though."

"A pleasure to meet you, Dan," she beamed shaking his hand eagerly. "What is it that you do here?"

"This and that. One day it may be grabbing extra jars of peanut butter and bananas for Winston, other days it may be assisting him with grabbing things his hands are too big to reach. The other day he ended up putting his armor on wrong and couldn't reach the release to get out of it."

"Oh! You're a temp?"

"His assistant," he corrected. "As to who we are as an organization, I suppose you can call us the new Overwatch. Though most of our activities are involved with sneaking around and not getting caught by the authorities when we're saving people. I guess we're more of an Underwatch."

"I see," she commented. "I do recall hearing news that there were some scandals that had come to light. I never dreamed they would shut down all of Overwatch though. How long have I been away?"

"Five years. The truth is, Overwatch must not have received your distress beacon. I'm sure they would have helped you if...DOWN!" Grasping her, he quickly pulled Mei from the metal table, just as a series of bullets riddled the wall behind them.

"Going to have to do better than that, love!" Tracer beamed, appearing in front of them momentarily before vanishing and reappearing elsewhere.

"Annoying pest!" a feminine voice called out, firing more bullets wildly around the room. It was a voice that sent a chill down his spine. He knew it all too well.

"Shit," he muttered under his breath, peering out from the corner to be confirmed by the sight of the dark-skinned beauty. "Widowmaker."

"Who?"

"Talon's best assassin. Damn it, I can't believe they're attacking again."

"Shouldn't we help them fight?" Mei asked over the gunfire.

"Two problems: One, I don't know how to shoot a gun. I'm just a lab assistant. Two, even if I did, we're in the med bay. We don't have any guns here." That was when Dan smelled the awful stench of sulfur in the air. The foul smell was enough to make him retch, but he knew what it meant. "And now Reaper is here," he groaned.

Sure enough, in the middle of her taunting, Tracer had neglected to watch her back. Appearing behind her, the phantom-like assassin leveled a shotgun and blasted her straight in her harness, causing it fizzle out as she collapsed forward on to the ground.

Just as she was about to get up, he stomped down on her back, leveling the other gun at the back of her head. "Wait," Widowmaker interrupted, holding up her hand. "I want to draw this one out slowly."

Reaper said nothing for a moment before drawing back his gun and slamming it down hard on the back of Tracer's skull, knocking her unconscious. "Do not forget why we are here," he instructed ominously. "Handle your personal vendetta after we've secured the girl. I'll see if I can take out the monkey." With the last sentence, he vanished in a cloud of smoke once more.

He could hear the sounds of the remaining killer as her heels clicked along the floor. "Come out, come out, little fly," she purred. "I know you're in here. All we want is the girl. We promise we're not here for you or your friends. Surrender her and you'll be spared."

"Yeah, right," He mumbled under his breath. Chancing another peek, he looked out again to see her peering beneath another table, three rows back. She was humming softly to herself, cradling a hybrid assault/sniper rifle. He had to do something.

Mei looked at him before peering around her side. "How's Tracer?"

"Alive," she replied softly. "Her guns are on the far wall. I may be able to make it if I'm quick." Noting his look, she waved her hand, "I'll explain later. You figure out a way to disarm her, I'll go for the guns."

Looking for anything he could use, Dan peered up to see the powerful high-grade laser still hanging in position from when he'd cut Mei free from the ice. "All right, I have an idea," informed her. If this didn't work they were both dead. But he also knew that if they did nothing, the same result would occur. Talon was not known for leaving witnesses.

Mei held her her fingers, silently counting down from three. On one, she quickly stood to dart for Tracer's discarded weapons. Just as Widowmaker turned to fire, Dan shouted out, "Athena! Activate laser! Full power!"

The beam of light roared to life as Dan swiveled it quickly, slicing the assassin's gun in two, just as Mei swept up the guns and began to fire wildly at her. Grabbing one of her poisonous mines, Widowmaker quickly hurled one in the direction of the laser, causing him to go into a coughing fit before she fired her grappling hook to escape through the sky light.

Crawling to the other side of the table, Mei continued firing at her until she vanished from sight before rushing back to his side. "Are you okay? Dan, speak to me!"

"I'm fine," he coughed, still trying to reach the fresh air. "Athena," he wheezed, "deactivate laser. Initiate circulation and quarantine storage."

"Complying," the computer stated, quickly dispersing the poison gas away from them before filtering it into a small canister.

Mei handed him one of Tracer's guns, nodding behind them. "Let's check on Winston, he may need our help. All you do is aim, take a deep breath, and pull the trigger."

The two dove out of cover, moving quickly towards the main workshop to see Winston combatting fiercely with Reaper. Just as he fired his tesla cannon, Reaper became ethereal vanishing and reappearing behind him to fire at him with the shotgun. Mei and Dan opened fire on him, causing him to look up at them in surprise before ducking for cover.

"Winston!" Dan called, grabbing the shield generator and tossing it to him. His boss easily caught it, giving him a thankful nod before activating it just as Reaper began firing again.

Realizing he was outnumbered and outgunned, he let out a snarl before disappearing once more. This time, he didn't come back. Rushing to his side, Mei shook the giant beast gently.

"Winston, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he groaned, clambering to his feet. "It's not a productive day at the office until Talon attacks us...who are you?" Winston asked, realizing he didn't know the woman speaking.

"She's one of ours," Dan swiftly explained. "Winston, meet Professor Mei Ling Zhou from Watchpoint: Antarctica."

"Holy hell," he grunted. "I didn't expect any of them to still be alive. Where's Tracer?"

"Alive, but unconscious. Her harness is pretty badly damaged though. How much time do we have before she destabilizes?"

Lumbering towards her, the ape lifted her in his arms, gently carrying her back to the main workshop. "It looks for the most part salvageable," the ape sighed in relief. "She'll be just fine. Any idea what they wanted?"

"They said they came for 'the girl', I assume they meant Mei."

"How did they even know I was here?"

"Athena, run diagnostic sweep of the base to see if there's any bugs." Sure enough, she chimed soon after that she'd found and disabled the devices. "Damn it," he grunted. "I knew I should have been more careful. Excellent work you two. Dan, place in a new core for Tracer's harness. Mei...you and I have things to discuss."

As Mei and the lab assistant parted ways temporarily, she flashed him a reassuring smile that made him feel weak and warm inside. Pausing just outside of Winston's office, he watched in awe as she looked up at his board and without saying a word, erased and changed one of the numerals. Giving him another grin, she disappeared inside.

For the first time in his life, Dan thought he may very well be in love.

To be continued...


	2. Chapter 2

Enraptured in Ice Ch. 2

 **AN: Hey everyone. So I typically like to post the first three chapters of a story before sinking back into rotation. I'm glad to see that so many people have followed and favorited the story already. I'll admit, it's a little frustrating that doesn't have Mei as a taggable character, but even still, I'm sure it'll be fine. Please feel free to leave a review or to send me a PM. I love hearing from people. Seriously, it's like a drug. -Kiba**

As Mei disappeared into Winston's office, Dan shook the thoughts from his head. He needed to focus on work. Opening the supply cabinet, he began to assemble the components for Tracer's harness as Winston had shown him. Truth be told, he didn't really understand the science of it too much, but in his personal opinion, if he had a thing strapped to his chest that kept him from ceasing to exist, he'd take a lot better care of it.

Removing the damaged core from Tracer's back, he began to go to work installing the new one. With a painful groan, she began to move, but he quickly urged her to keep still. "Dan? What happened?"

"Do you want the short or the long version?" he asked, making sure to align the flux capacitors.

"Short. I doubt my head could stand the long one," she grumbled.

"You got knocked out."

"That explains the nasty bump."

"All right, your harness is repaired. Let me take a look at that battle scar you just acquired." Pulling away her hand, she let out a wince as I brushed it with my fingers. Sure enough, it was starting to bruise. "We should ice it to reduce the swelling. It's a good thing you got hit in the head and not somewhere important, right?"

"Always the kidder, aren't you, love?" Looking around, she frowned. "Where's the big guy?"

"In his office," he replied, placing the ice pack to the back of her head. "Hold this, please."

"Did they manage to take something? What was it they were after?"

"Not something, some one."

Tracer let out a light giggle. "No offense, love, but I doubt you're so important that it warrants Talon kidnapping you."

"Not me," he murmured dreamily. His eyes went to the equation she'd repaired. She was smart, beautiful, funny...it was inevitable he felt that he'd feel this way.

Tracer's eyes grew wide as a big smile crept across her face. "You have a crush! Tell me, tell me, tell me. I have to know, love. Truly, I do."

"Shhh," I quickly quieted her. "I do not. Just...I don't know, she seems really nice…"

"Oh you've got it bad," she teased. "Come on, come on. Give us a name, then."

"Mei," he answered. Even the way it felt saying it made it hard for him to not smile. "Mei Ling Zhou." When he turned back to his friend, he noticed that she was incredibly pale. "Tracer? Are you all right? The core's working fine, isn't it?"

" _The_ Mei Ling Zhou?" she asked in surprise. Taking a deep breath, she chuckled nervously. "Of course. You always so aim a little higher than your reach, don't you love?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" he snapped.

"I'm afraid your crush is something of a celebrity," she explained.

"A celebrity? She told me she was a scientist at a research station."

"Oh, I'm certain she was. I didn't mean a celebrity like or Lucio. She's an explorer and a scientist. She's one of my biggest role models, understand? I've followed her work for quite some time, and up until just now, I'd all but thought she was either dead or in the middle of a jungle somewhere."

"In a sense. Frozen in a cryostasis pod. She was the only one in her entire team to make it out alive. You can thank her for not having a hole in your head instead of a lump. She's the one who bailed us out."

Tracer's hand rested on his shoulder, a surprising tone of seriousness coming to her voice. "Listen Dan. You and I, we've always been mates. You're like a kid brother to me."

"Kid?"

"Be careful. Don't let this crush run away with your head. You're a great guy. You're clever, to be certain. But I'm afraid your princess is just in another castle. I'm not saying not to have those feelings, because I know you can't help it...I just don't want to see you hurt, understand love?"

Brushing her hand off of him, he frowned. "I appreciate the sentiment Tracer, but I don't know what you're talking about. I haven't known the woman for more than a few hours."

"And yet, you're waiting for her to come back out that door like a puppy waiting for its owner to get home from holiday," she retorted. "Just promise me something, Danny, okay?"

It'd been forever since she had called him Danny. The only times she ever really did it was when she was trying to act as if she weren't upset or scared. It was as if by calling him 'Danny' she was telling him that everything would be okay, even though they both knew it wasn't. "I'm fine," he assured her. "I don't understand why you're making this out to be more than it is. It's not important, okay?"

"Dan, you're holding my gun," she pointed out. "Do you know how many times I've tried to get you to come to the range with me?"

"It's different in a life or death situation," he argued.

"Promise me, Dan. Promise that no matter what comes of this, be it that you tell her and she doesn't agree or that you hold on to it forever, promise that you'll not leave us because of that."

My heart caught in my throat for a moment. "Are you really that worried about me?" he asked. "I...Tracer, I'm not hanging around here trying to be cool, okay? I love being here, just like you do. Even still, I know that I'm not much. But it'll take a lot more than being scorned to send me away."

"Promise, Dan."

"Fine, I promise."

She took a deep breath before letting it out in relief. She wrapped her arm around my shoulder, giving me a hug. "You're one of us, Dan. Whether you believe it or not, you're one of us."

* * *

Mei sat patiently in the chair, her hands folded in her lap. The office was a strange one, as if it were clearly split in half. On one side of the desk, it looked like any other office. Desk, chairs. Even a little poster on the wall with a kitten that read 'hang in there'. But on the other, it was like a jungle gym. Instead of another chair, there was a gigantic tire that Winston had perched himself on. Above him, ropes hung from above and there were potted plants that brought to mind more tropical places.

"Mei, I'm afraid we have a lot to catch you up on, you see…"

"Oh! Daniel filled me in on a lot of it. Sorry to interrupt, I just didn't want you to have to go through more trouble than necessary. From what he told me, humans won the war with the Omnecs, but tension is still high. Overwatch was disbanded, but you and a few others are still carrying on, and that now we're regarded as criminals."

Winston scratched his chest in thought, reaching into his desk drawer, he pulled out a banana and a jar of peanut butter. "That's most of it," he admitted, "but there's more to it than that. Even things that Dan doesn't know. Things that Dan is not _allowed_ to know. When you were working in Antarctica, did you hear about a group known as the Blackwatch?"

"The name was mentioned every now and then around the campfire. Just rumors and stories mostly about the 'dark side of Overwatch'."

"Not rumors or stories," he answered, taking another bite from the banana. "Blackwatch was very real. It's job was to perform covert operations that would be viewed less than positively if brought to light. Assassinations, kidnappings, burglaries, you name it, they did it. Most were just rogues and mercenaries who managed to land themselves in the perfect job to get away with what they wanted."

"That's horrible!"

"Indeed. When the Blackwatch came to light, that's when the government officially shut us down. We'd become too big and too powerful. If you tune in to any news channel, however, you'll find that the world still needs us. Some of Overwatch has returned to active duty, others, however, have not. We can still make a difference. We still have ways to protect the world, even if it feels its better off without us. So, are you in?"

"In?" she asked in surprise. "You mean, you want me to join Underwatch?"

"Underwatch?" he repeated.

"Oh, sorry," she giggled. "It was just a joke between Dan and I. I don't mind helping Winston. But I don't know what use you'll have for a climatologist. I'm afraid I'm not much of a combat expert."

The ape frowned at her. "Please, don't insult my intelligence Professor Ling Zhou," he commented. "I saw how well you handled yourself out there. Even if you're not willing to enter combat, you can still help us. Right now, we're desperate. We're willing to take anyone we can get, and we would be honored...no, privileged to have a scientist of your calibre on our team."

Mei pondered it for a moment. "Winston, if you take everyone who comes back from the old Overwatch, won't the same problems just happen again?"

The scientist blanked momentarily. It was never a possibility that he'd truly considered, simply because of his love for what he viewed as his family. "I suppose so. But I trust you, Professor Ling Zhou."

She sighed. "Very well, I will assist you."

"Excellent! Just…"

"But," she interrupted, "only under two conditions. Firstly, you need to start screening people who come in. I'm sure some of the older members are still honorable, but we need to be careful. In addition to avoiding notice, if we are caught it could really help our case if we show that there haven't been any incidents of corruption."

"Understood."

"Secondly, I'll be needing a lab and some of the old equipment from Antarctica. You brought the Cryopods. Did you manage to find Khione?"

"Unfortunately, the survey team said that all they found other than the cryopods had been completely destroyed. But the lab, I can grant you. We have plenty of empty rooms and buildings here in Gibraltar. Next door we even have some of the old equipment." Standing from the table, he politely opened the door for Mei, following her out to where Tracer and Dan were sitting. "I'll have Dan help you to settle in."

"Speaking of which, I will most likely need a lab assistant. If you have anyone you could recommend me, I'd…"

"I'll do it!" Dan quickly volunteered, before clearing his throat and repeating it more softly. "I'd be happy to be your assistant Professor Ling Zhou."

"Is that okay with you, Winston?" Tracer asked expectantly, biting her tongue to avoid chewing Dan out. Even after she'd warned him, he was still jumping into it head-first. Whatever subtlety she was trying to inflect went over Winston's head, however.

"Sure. I see no problems with it."

"But! What if you need him for something?" Tracer tried, zipping to his side quickly. "I mean, after all, he did fix your shield emitter and my harness, right?" Dan shot her a glare that she brushed off.

"Well...if it's too much trouble…" Mei began.

"No! No trouble at all!" Dan assured her eagerly before giving a signal to Tracer to shut up.

"But Dan, what if Winston ends up being attacked while you're not here? Who's going to help him fight?"

"You mean like he never does," Winston huffed. "Dan, I am giving you permission to assist Professor Ling Zhou. If for any reason she decides you're not up to snuff…"

"I'll do my best," he interrupted before turning back to smile at Mei.

"I'm sure he will make a wonderful lab assistant. If half of what I've heard about his abilities is true, then it will be more than enough. Thank you so much for offering, Dan. I really appreciate it."

Her words caused his heart to flutter. Tracer, however, still was skeptical about the idea. As the two filed out to find her new lab, she turned to Winston. "What?" he asked.

"Nothing," she lied.

"You're an awful liar," Winston commented, swinging back to his terminal. "What's bothering you? Is there something you know about our mysterious woman?"

"She's wonderful," she admitted. "I've read her journals that she's kept. She's an inspiration to all the women who wished to be part of Overwatch."

"But…?"

"But I'm worried about Dan."

"Dan? Why? He's the closest one to her thus far. Not even an hour and they have their own inside jokes."

"I know, but...can't you tell? He's getting too attached to her, Winston."

The ape sighed, rubbing his temples with one hand. "Tracer, I understand you care for Dan, a lot. I know if you could, you'd try to instate him into Overwatch, assuming it was still here to instate him in. But I also know that you're very protective. Despite what you may see him as, you can't forget that he is an adult. He's allowed to make his own life decisions. Have you said your peace with him?"

"Yes, but you know how he is. Stubborn to a fault, even in his stupidity."

"Hmmph. Sounds like someone else I know," he retorted. "The point is, you've given him your input, but it's up to him to make the choice."

* * *

Mei sang softly to herself as Dan escorted her through the large warehouse next door to Winston's lab. He was over the moon that Winston had allowed him to be her personal assistant. Looking up, she continued her song as she stood on her tip-toes, reaching for the component that she sought.

Still unable to reach it and seemingly with more than an arm span out of reach, she frowned and began to scale the shelf, one foot in front of the other, just as easily as if it were a ladder. "Dan, please be ready to catch this when I pass it down to you."

"Yes ma'am," he called up in reply. She was athletic too? With every new thing he discovered about her, Dan slowly sank deeper into his mental image of her, to the point where to him, she could do no wrong.

Finding the item she was looking for, she began to pull it, only to find it stuck. "Zhè shì zuì chà de!" she growled, tugging on it harder. Looking over her shoulder at Dan, she called down to him once more. "It's stuck. I'm going to try to unwedge it!"

"All right, just be careful!"

With one final hard tug, the thing managed to come free. The sudden change in mass made Mei lose her grip and soon both her and the machine she was clutching were now hurtling to the ground.

Immediately, Dan was there, arms outstretched as she fell on to him. Unable to maintain balance the two of them fell to the hard ground, but thankfully, he'd managed to slow her fall enough that neither were hurt. "Are you okay, ma'am?" he asked worriedly.

She nodded with a soft smile. "Sorry I fell on you. I wasn't expecting it to come out so suddenly,"

"Ma'am, you're my boss now. You don't have to apologize to me for stuff. I'm more than happy to follow you anywhere."

Perplexed by his odd wording, Mei simply stood, brushing herself off before offering her hand to him. Taking it, she pulled him to his feet before he stooped down to pick up the device. It was a high-capacity pressurizer. He couldn't help but wonder what she needed it for. "So…" she suddenly spoke up, scanning the shelves for the next item on her mental checklist. "How does someone like you come to find Underwatch?"

"Someone like me?" Dan wondered, scratching his head. "What do you mean?"

"You know: young, smart, brave. There are far more lucrative positions in the world you could have then being a personal assistant to a band of criminals."

"Yeah, I suppose so," he replied. "But, even still, I'm glad to be here. When I was really young, I'd stay up and watch the news about Overwatch. They were like real life comic book heroes and I remember I wanted to be just like them. Then, once I grew older, I realized that that was something that was a very real possibility. When I was sixteen years old, my family and I were pinned down by a squad of omnecs that had managed to corner us when we went out to buy groceries. Then...out of nowhere, ZIP. This girl, the same age as me, comes darting past them, just blasting away wildly. Somehow, though, when I saw her, you could tell that every shot was placed exactly where she wanted it. It was amazing. I had never seen anything like it before."

She beamed. "Ah, so that must have been Tracer. Then she brought you to Winston?"

"Not quite," he chuckled. "One of the omnecs managed to swivel and get a pretty good blow on her. When it did, it managed to crack her harness and sent her flying. Nothing too serious, mind you. I can't explain it, but I knew I had to help her, so I followed after and patched up her gear for her. She was all, 'That was amazing, love! The world could always use more heroes!' It's the same spiel she gives to everyone who helps her when she's caught off-guard. She swore to me that she'd never forget the favor I did for her."

"Aww, that's so sweet!" Mei giggled. "You two must be really close."

"Yeah, you could say that," Dan chuckled. "Anyway, we parted ways after that. Five years later, I was in College when I heard that Overwatch had been shut down. I was heartbroken. Everything I was studying for seemed so worthless now. For another five years, I didn't hear a word, not a peep. Then, about two months ago, something amazing happened. I was going through King's Row in England. I'd used all of my savings to explore the world, you know? This was my first stop. So, I walk into a pub, and there Tracer was, this huge lopsided grin on her face with a drink in her hand."

"That must have been exciting," Mei mused, pointing to another piece of machinery for him to fetch. As he placed it on to the car, she urged him to continue. "So you went and talked to her, right?"

"Hmm? No. No way," he replied. "I'm...really shy at times. So, I just sat at the bar and ordered myself a drink. Well, turns out, Tracer recognizes me immediately. 'Hey! You're that kid that saved me in that grocery store that one time. Look at you! All grown up now, aren't you love?' I'll admit, it was pretty frustrating being called a kid by someone who was only a few months older than me. She still does it, too. Anyway, she tells me that she's going to make good on her promise, and repay that favor. I'm assuming she means she wants to buy me a drink, what have you, but instead she asks me to fly with her to Gibraltar."

"Wow! So what did you say?"

"I was hesitant at first," he admitted. "But, finally, her annoyingness wore me out and she managed to drag me into this small plane before hopping into the cockpit and flying both of us there. I was mortified. As excitable as Tracer is on the ground, she's twice so in the air. She introduced me to Winston, told me he was the one who created her harness, and the rest is just history."

Mei's eyes were shimmering with excitement. "That's so amazing. It's almost like a fairy tale. I can't imagine how thrilled you must have been. Are you sure you don't mind working as my assistant? I would understand if you wanted to stay with Winston."

"Actually, I'm really excited to assist you. Tracer told me that you're quite the explorer yourself. I'm sure my life is nowhere near as action-packed as yours has been. You'll have to tell me one of your stories some time."

"Oh, it's not all that," she assured him. She was beginning to amass quite a pile of machines and tech on to the cart. "Let's see, an exciting story that I have. I must admit, I'm drawing a blank."

"Really?" he asked skeptically. "You were an adventurer but you never went on any adventures?"

"Well, last year a glacier was falling on this arctic wildlife preserve. There were a lot of endangered species there. Some would he be extinct if they were to be killed. So, I developed a machine that could temporarily change the climate of an area and I froze the glacier just long enough for everyone to get the animals out. It was pretty neat seeing all of those unique animals, I guess."

Dan's jaw had dropped in awe. "You built a device that can change the weather?"

"Only in a 30 meter radius," she admitted. "I never was able to make a larger scale one for the world. Besides, the climates are far too complex. It'd be better to have one for each area, though even then you'd have to find someone who knows how to work it."

"And the most exciting part of that story were the animals?" he laughed. "Also, weren't you frozen last year?"

Mei came to a halt, the smile now gone from her face. "I'd never really thought about it, until you mentioned it," she whispered. "Five years of my life have gone by, and I was just...I was just in a block of ice? I...I let down my team. I let down Overwatch." Her eyes began to glisten with tears as she quickly turned away with a sniffle. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to ruin the mood."

Dan felt incredibly conflicted, watching the young woman's struggle to hold herself together. After a moment of hesitation, he shyly went to her and hugged her. She seemed surprised by the sudden display of affection. "You didn't let anyone down," he assured her, trying to give her some comfort. "Besides, you still have a long life to lead ahead of you. Five years...I mean, in respect to your life, that's not much of anything. Besides, your body was perfectly preserved in the ice, so you didn't 'age' five years, you simply...skipped them."

Smiling, she returned his embrace briefly. "Thank you, Dan. I appreciate you trying to comfort me. But it doesn't change the fact that my entire team died because of me. I'm the one who instructed we go into cryostasis."

"If you hadn't you'd have starved to death, completely forgotten by Overwatch. You made the best decision you could with the knowledge you had," he pointed out, the two separating. "Besides, being a leader isn't just about making sure people come out unscathed. Sometimes it happens. A good leader puts themselves last and their team first. You stepped into those cryopods, same as them. It was just luck of the draw, I guess."

"Even still. As their leader, their deaths are on me." She remained silent for a moment before her usual shy smile returned to her lips. "Anyway, let's get on a less depressing topic. What do you like to do for fun?"

"I don't know, to be honest."

"Oh come on. Surely you have some sort of hobby. I already know you like to tinker with machines and rescue girls from giant ice cubes. What else? What do you and Tracer do when you take her out on a date?"

"On a date?" he asked in surprise. "No, you misunderstand. Tracer and I aren't dating, we're just friends. We're more like brother and sister than like that."

"Oh," she whispered, turning red from chagrin. "I'm sorry, I didn't know."

"It's fine, honest. I don't really have a girlfriend or anything like that. I've always been too busy, be it with work or school or travelling. Kind of regretting it, to be honest."

"Well, maybe I'll let you off early some days so you can go find a nice girl to treat special. Underground or not, you still have to have some sort of social life."

"Well what about you?" he tried, desperate to change the subject to something other than himself. "I can't help but notice that you weren't exactly scrambling for a phone to contact someone. Anybody special in your life?" He was trying hard to not sound eager for her answer, and in the end, Mei's oblivious nature allowed him to keep his secret.

"No, I suppose not," she pondered. "Most guys I met found me intimidating, and they never really could keep up, so I guess I just left them behind. Not literally, of course. I wouldn't abandon someone on a mountain or something cruel like that. The only friends that were close to me were in the Watchpoint. It's...still hard to imagine them gone."

"Well, of course," Dan stated matter-of-factly. "It's only been one day. No one is expecting you to just get over this. If anything, I admire your ability to hold it together as well as you do without seeming like you don't care."

"That's sweet of you to say. Thank you."

He couldn't help but to feel overwhelmingly proud of himself that he could cheer her up, even a little bit. He would struggle with this at first, but he hoped, in time, that maybe she'd come to feel for him, too.

"So...what is it that we're making?" he asked, eyeing the pile of scrap.

"Well, our data from Arctic was lost when the building collapsed on the console. I wanted to recreate some of the experiments that we did at the arctic, but to do that I'll need an artificial environment to work with. The only way to do that is for me to rebuild my old climate converter." Pausing for a moment, she softly added, "If you want, I could show you how it works."

It was apparent to Dan that she was hopeful he would take her up on the offer. He could barely fathom just how much she may actually have to teach him. Not just about Climatology, but about technology too. "I'd really appreciate that! I'm sure that I can learn a lot from you Professor."

She beamed at him, simply exuding happiness that someone else would be interested in hearing about her work. "Please, just call me Mei. Professor makes me feel so old. I tried to get the other researchers to stop calling me that, but I just gave up on it after a while."

"All right, Mei."

Now completely equipped with what she needed, Dan made sure to collect any necessary tools they'd need as well before the two, now fully laden, returned to the empty building that Mei would soon call her lab.

Setting up, every now and then, his eyes eyes would wander to the voluptuous woman who was bent over the cart, rummaging for the next thing to set up. Once, she'd caught him looking, but he just flashed a smile at her as if he hadn't been staring at all.

Returning it, Mei finally put the last piece of the standard equipment in its place. "Ta-da!" she announced. "We're done for today. If you like, you can head home. What time will you be here tomorrow?"

"Head home?" He chuckled. "No, I actually live here on Watchpoint." Raising his finger, he pointed to a door on the far side of the lab. "Those are barracks in there. It comes with ten cots. Don't worry, I make sure the sheets are cleaned and beds remade every week. We never know when guests are coming, and Winston snores like an ape, understandably. It used to be where I sleep, but if you'd like some privacy of your own, I don't mind going to my crash bed in Winston's lab."

"No, no! That's fine. I lived with 19 other people in Antarctica and it was even smaller than this facility. Truth be told, I'm actually kind of relieved that someone else will be here. I was afraid I'd get lonely, otherwise. I'm sorry, I must sound really weird."

"I understand completely," he assured her. "If it helps, Tracer also usually sleeps here when she stays. Also, there is good news and there is better news. Good news is, we have running water and our own bathroom, right next to the barracks. Better news, the water's hot."

Mei stretched out, her back curving in a way that accented her body even further, causing Dan to casually look away. "Mmm, a hot shower would be fantastic. I can't remember the last time we had one. Back at the research lab, we had to boil snow before letting it cool down and using that. It was a real hassle and a lot of us didn't have much in the way of toiletries. They're not exactly in common supply there."

"I can imagine it'd be hard to keep well stocked in the most remote place on Earth. I have some stuff. You're more than welcome to borrow my shampoo or whatever you need."

"Or…" a voice called from the door before with a zip, Tracer showed up between us, causing us both to take a step back. "You can use mine, Mei. I also have some clothes for you to borrow if you like. At least until we get some of your own, I mean."

"Oh, thank you Tracer," she beamed. "I really appreciate it."

"No worries, love. Any time. If you like, shower's open. I'll make sure this one doesn't try anything." Tracer jerked her thumb towards Dan to indicate who she meant. "He can be quite the pervert if you're not careful."

"What? I am not!" he protested.

Mei just giggled to herself. "You two really are like brother and sister. But I will take you up on the shower Tracer." Looking to Dan, she put a finger to her lips. "You don't mind if I go first do you?"

"No, no. Of course not. I imagine today has been...pretty hectic."

She nodded. "Yeah...though not all of it was bad."

"I'll lay out the clothes for you just outside the shower," Tracer called after her.

Once she was out of earshot, Dan scowled at his friend. "Tracer, what the hell is your problem?"

"You need to cool off," she replied, playfully flicking his forehead. "You're taking a nosedive from atmosphere, love. I'm just trying to...act as your thermal shielding."

"You're cock blocking me."

"I am...yes. I am cock blocking you."

Dan threw up his arms in exasperation. "Look, Tracer you know me. I'm pretty shy. I've never really dated before and as you've said on many occasions, I'm not stupid. I'm not just going to go stand out of the shower on one knee with a ring. She just woke up after five years to find all of her friends dead, today. I think there is a better time and place for all of this, but that doesn't mean that you can just interfere like this."

"Just watch me, love," she shot back.

He crossed his arms. "Though you're only going to make it harder on yourself now."

"What do you mean?" she asked suspiciously.

Now it was his turn to smirk. "Mei is borrowing your clothes."

"So?"

"Well, I don't mean to draw any attention to it, but I believe there is something of a drastic difference between you two in...erm...tracks of land." Tracer turned a bright red, not having had the realization before this moment. "I mean, if you want to give her clothes that are super tight and accent every curve of her body, I won't complain. But, it seems kind of like my 'thermal shielding' would be torn off."

She pondered it for a few moment before a grin crossed her features. Dan knew that wasn't good. "Oh don't worry your sweet little head, darling. I always have a plan of some sort, don't I?"

"No, you almost never have a plan."

"Exactly! Which is why when I do, they tend to work."

"That...doesn't make any sense."

"Don't you worry about it. I'll be right back." With a quick zip she vanished, leaving him to sigh in frustration. Soon, she'd returned, this time holding up a long plain white and frumpy nightgown. "Eh? See. Told ya. Tracer always has a plan."

"A mumu? Really? Fine. Play dirty all you want, Tracer. You're not going to chase me away. After all, I am her personal assistant. We'll be spending a lot of time alone together." With another flash, Tracer had folded the mumu neatly on the bench before returning to her cot next to Dan's.

Sitting on it, she looked to him, crossing her legs and setting her hands in her lap. "Danny, you know I'm not doing this to be mean. I'm trying to protect you. You don't understand, but heartbreak...it's one of the worst feelings in the world. I just don't want you to get hurt."

"I know why," he answered, "but that doesn't make it any better. I don't know if I stand a chance with a woman as amazing as Mei. I agree, she's really something else. But you miss 100% of the shots you don't make, and maybe not today, not even tomorrow I _will_ make that shot. Understand?"

Tracer sighed, turning to lay down with her hands behind her head and her legs outstretched. "Just don't forget your promise, Dan."

"I won't," he promised, "and Lena…"

The pilot looked at him in surprise. It wasn't often that others called her by her real name. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"I just...this will probably cause us to argue a lot. I just don't want you to think that I hate you. You're my best friend. Please don't forget that."

She simply smiled. "Don't you worry your little head, love. I know you don't hate me. I'm too cool to be hated."

"Erm, Tracer?" Mei called shyly, stepping out from the bathroom. Despite the frumpiness of the gown, she'd managed to completely fill it out. It only went to her thighs instead of her knees like it had on Tracer, and it did almost nothing to conceal her bust. "I appreciate this. But I hope you don't mind. I think I may have stretched it."

"No, no problem," she replied, completely shocked.

"If you like, the shower's open."

"Ladies first," Dan offered. Tracer, grabbing her towel and a change of clothes grumbled to herself before disappearing into the bathroom. The young lab assistant was struggling to hide his grin until Mei came and sat on the cot beside him.

"Hey," she grinned. "Do you mind if I take this one?"

"Not at all," he replied, briefly noting in his head that there were dozens of other cots she could have chosen. Was this a sign?.

Catching his gaze, Mei blushed slightly before pointing up. "This one is under the vent," she explained. "I know it sounds silly, but I prefer to sleep in the cold. You don't mind do you? If this is too close, I'd understand."

"It's fine, honest," he urged. "And it's not silly. I prefer to sleep in the cold, too. Though I imagine you've learned to sleep much better in it."

He was referring to the time she lived in the Arctic, but she just chuckled. "Yeah, I suppose you're right. I did sleep for five years after all."

The two sat awkwardly for a few moments, neither one sure what to say after that. Finally Dan cleared his throat. "Look, about what Tracer said earlier, I'm not…"

"I know," she interrupted. "You don't seem that kind of person."

"How do you know that?"

She simply smiled at him. "When I fell and you caught me, you didn't try to grope me. You apologized profusely for unzipping my parka when you were trying to save my life. And, most importantly, you've yet to not look me in the eye when we talk." She paused briefly to tug at her gown which had now ridden up her thigh slightly. "These clothes are so tight," she complained before realizing she'd spoken out loud. "Don't tell Tracer I complained, please. I don't want to seem ungrateful."

"Relax. Your secret is safe with me. Tomorrow we'll buy you more clothes and then...we start working on your machine, I guess."

She yawned, stretching sleepily before nodding. "Yeah. That sounds nice. I hope you don't mind if I cut our conversation short, Dan, but I'm exhausted. Don't worry about me. I'll be just fine. Thank you for being so kind to me."

"Anytime," he whispered, watching as she tucked herself into her blankets to roll over and go to sleep. "Sleep well, Mei. I hope you have sweet dreams." With that, he too curled up in his bed and fell fast asleep.

To be continued...


	3. Chapter 3

Enraptured in Ice Ch. 3

 **AN: Here's Ch. 3 everyone. I've been really enjoying working on this story. I'm really glad to hear from you all that you enjoy the story. I'll admit, I was very surprised (and frustrated) that fanfiction didn't set up tags for Mei, but they have them for super minor characters like Katya. Needless to say, I will be continuing this story, so be sure to stay tuned. If you want to play with me, my PS4 ID is on my author profile, so feel free to send me a message or add me online. Thanks again for all your support. -Kiba**

Tracer sighed, resting her head against the cool porcelain wall of the shower. As the warm water flowed over her body, it created a strange tingling sensation. This was always the case when she wasn't wearing her harness. While she was still anchored to the present, her body could never tell what was real and what was not. In that sense, she both felt the water and yet, she did not.

Washing her hair, she could vaguely hear the murmurs of Mei and Dan in the other room. "I can't believe this. It's like she's trying to make him have a crush on her," she muttered to herself. "I mean, how in the hell can she make the ugliest thing I could find look sexy? How is that even a thing?!" Another question burned in the back of her mind, one that she refused to address. _What if she did have feelings for Dan?_

So she silenced it, repeating to herself over and over again that she was protecting Dan. That's what was important: making sure that Danny wasn't heart broken. So what if she grew up on stories of the amazing adventurer. That didn't change where her loyalties lay.

There was some respite for her however. The fact that Dan didn't seem to hold any ill will against her proved that he at least had _some_ recognition that what she was doing was for his own good. If anything, Tracer considered this nothing more than an extra obstacle to make the challenge more interesting.

It was then that another thought occurred to her. _Maybe I haven't built enough of a raport with Dan. He may not trust my advice on this particular matter because we've never discussed his relationship status before._ Confidant that she'd found the key to the problem, she finished rinsing the lather from her body, before turning the water off and emerging from the shower. Drying herself with a towel, she contentedly changed into her slumber wear and slipped her harness on over it.

It was difficult getting used to at first. She'd requested before that Winston make it a little less bulky, but in the end she was grateful. The feeling of not existing at a given point in time was one that was pure torture. Many times, she'd appear and disappear in a blink, unable to even call for help before the universe whisked her off again. That was something that she struggled to share with anyone, even Dan.

The real reason for her cheerfulness was because everything else compared to her fleeting existence felt like a paradise. Tracer had many regrets in her life and she refused to let this become one of them.

Walking out, she froze, completely stunned to find Mei asleep on the other side of a slumbering Dan. She could have chosen any other cot and she picked the one next to him? Was she trying to tease the poor boy or did she simply not know? Whatever the case, Tracer zipped silently past them to her bed before snuggling beneath her sheets.

Everything was changing again and if there was one thing Tracer struggled with more than anything, it was sudden and unnecessary change.

* * *

The next morning came early as Dan's eyes opened to the sound of metal and machinery. Had Mei already begun work without him? Yawning, he slipped out of bed and made his way to the showers. In doing so, he passed by the lab to find that Mei was indeed tinkering with something, though it wasn't the equipment they'd brought in yesterday. "Mei? What's wrong?" Dan asked sleepily.

"Hmm? Oh, good morning Dan. I woke up early and you looked so peaceful I didn't want to wake you. Would you like some tea?" Looking around her, he realized that the device she was struggling with was actually a hot plate of some sort. Sitting on top of it was a ornate cast iron pot that he could only assume contained water. "Oh, I forgot. You're American, so you probably prefer coffee, right? I don't know if we have any in the supplies but I can check."

"Oh, no. Teas' fine," he assured her. "You don't need to go through the extra effort for me. Besides, I'm going to take a shower anyway before we work, so if you don't have any left by the time I'm done, don't worry about it, okay?"

"Sure thing," she smiled, watching him disappear through the doorway. Soon, the kettle began to whistle, so she took the teapot and poured herself a cup. As the bittersweet scent of oolong wafted up to her nose, she smiled. It reminded of her of home.

"Something smells nice," Tracer called from the doorway, stirred from her sleep by the sound. "Good morning, Mei. Don't suppose you could spare a cup for me?"

"Not a problem," she beamed, pouring a second cup and handing it carefully to the young woman. "I'm actually glad I get to talk to you. I know we didn't have much chance to chat yesterday with all that was going on."

"With me?" Tracer asked in surprise. "Why so?"

"I just wanted to thank you. You've always been such an inspiration to me. You took a huge risk for the sake of Overwatch and now look at you. You're so amazing, I can't help but to be impressed."

For a moment, she was stupefied. "I inspired _you_? That's a laugh. If anything, you're the hero here, not me. I've read your journal cover to cover multiple times. I wouldn't have even considered joining Overwatch if not for your bravery and courage. I thought to myself, 'there' a woman who faces danger every day. I can't stand idly by while humanity very well may be destroyed.' Truth be told, I can't compare myself to you, Mei. You're saving the world! I'm just in it for the adventure really."

"Would you like to know a secret?" Mei asked, causing Tracer's heart to race. The thoughts in the back of her mind rocketed to the forefront as she nervously nodded he head, leaning in to listen. "That's how it always starts."

Tracer let out a subtle breath of relief. "Really?"

"I didn't set out to save the world," Mei explained, "I wanted to see it for myself. I explored and found beautiful waterfalls and gigantic mountains that scraped the clouds. I wanted to see it all."

"Then what happened?"

A sheepish smile came to her face. "I guess you could say I grew up. I realized that the world wasn't just my own. I met all sorts of people. Some have never stepped foot outside of the city they lived in. Things began to get worse with climates and every day more of the world was being destroyed by storms and industry. I realized that it wasn't as important for me to see the world as it would be to ensure that everyone else could have the chance to see it."

"Between you and I, what is it that is making the sky go so bonkers anyway? It's a right mess, honestly. That's why you were in the Arctic in the first place, right?"

Mei suddenly became a bit more quiet as she stared disappointedly into her cup of tea. Tracer immediately felt a pang of guilt in her chest and as she opened her mouth to apologize, the climatologist spoke. "I'm not entirely sure," she admitted. "While we were there, we didn't find much in the way of clues. We found a strange signal that we couldn't locate, but before we could analyze it, the storm set it in. I tried to send it to Athena, but just as I was being frozen in the cryopod, the roof caved in on the computer and...and…" she sniffled as for the first time since she had awoke the tears simply began to pour down her cheeks.

"Mei?"

"I'm sorry," she sobbed, covering her eyes with her hand. "I hate that all of those men and women, they died. They sacrificed themselves to find a way to save the planet and in the end, their deaths amounted to nothing. I can't...I'm just…" she struggled to find the words she wanted to say. "It should have been me. They should have survived and I should have been the one who died. Instead, nineteen families are now missing loved ones and I have nothing to show for it."

"What a bunch of bollocks!" Tracer retorted, causing Mei to look up at her in surprise. "You're Mei Ling Zhou! You've made more contributions to our world than a lot of politicians have! Those men and women followed you all the way to Antarctica, and I promise it wasn't because they thought you were going to keep them safe! It's because they wanted to help you do something amazing. I can only imagine each and every one of them was prepared to give up their life on your behalf, simply because they believed in you. You're the real hero, Mei, and sometimes the hero doesn't win. Every now and then, we have to get back up, dust ourselves off, and go another round before showing them what-for. You and I, we're the cavalry, love. We're expected to carry on, even in times of stress and strife. That's why you chose to stick around, isn't it?"

"I guess you have a point," she murmured.

"Of course I do! If you still don't believe me, I promise you, anyone would tell you the same thing. There's a whole slew of people rooting for you, Mei. Don't let them down by beating yourself up. We have a saying in England: Keep Calm and Carry On."

"Wasn't that a thing on the internet at the beginning of century?" Dan asked, joining in on the conversation after having changed and dried off.

"Almost everything was at some point," Tracer shrugged. "But to answer your question, no. It came from back when we were in the 2nd World War. Germany would have constant bombings and raids but we'd have slews of people dying from panic alone. So the government decided to put up posters that read 'Keep Calm and Carry On' in hopes that they'd be able to more calmly get to a shelter."

"Interesting. So," Dan clapped his hands, "are you ready to get to work, Mei?"

"I believe that's my line," she giggled.

Dan paused as he noticed the red blotchiness of her eyes. Turning towards Tracer, he shot her a glare, but she simply mouthed that they could talk about it later. "I'll let you guys get to work. I'm not much of a scientist I'm afraid. Though if you don't mind so much, Mei, I'd like to steal Dan from you later this afternoon. I was hoping to take him to the range for some practice."

"That's fine," Mei answered.

"What? Why? I don't want to go to the shooting range."

"Because after all that's been going on lately, we need all hands on deck. That includes you, mister," Tracer huffed.

"She's right, Dan," his boss chimed in. "Learning to shoot is definitely a good thing. In emergency situations like yesterday, imagine if I hadn't been able to fight. It's not just about protecting yourself either. This ensures that you don't hit your friends instead of your enemies."

"Oh," he murmured. "I suppose that makes sense. I'll do it."

Tracer was shocked he'd agreed so quickly. Was it simply because Mei asked him to? She'd have to test that theory later, but it was possible that this crush may have its own advantages. "Excellent, I'll pick you up around four o'clock. I'll leave you to your sciency things then. If you need me, I'll be bothering Winston." Grinning, she zipped out of the lab, pausing at the door to take one last look at the two before heading on her way.

"She's so silly sometimes," Mei commented.

"Yeah, that's a pretty good word to describe her. I don't think she ever stops moving. Not even in her sleep. I'm sorry if she said something that upset you. Her mouth sometimes outruns her head."

"Actually, we had a very nice conversation. She was very helpful."

"Oh, well that's good then," he replied sheepishly. "How do we start?" Dan asked, reaching for one of the pieces of tech they'd collected.

"Not so fast. First, you'll have to learn the science of weather."

"I know quite a bit already," he bragged. "The sun evaporates water, water forms into clouds through condensation. When enough condenses, it precipitates, right?"

"That's a very simplified version of the water cycle, yes," she commented, "but there's ton of more things about the weather you'll need to know. First off, where does weather occur?"

"The...sky?"

That seemed to greatly tickle Mei as she covered her mouth to hide a snicker. "Okay, we'll start there. Our atmosphere, or what's left of it, has multiple layers. Weather occurs in the first layer, the troposphere. In the troposphere, temperature decreases as altitude increases. That's why the tops of mountains are typically covered in snow, even in the middle of summer."

"I did know that the part about the snow, but it's always confused me. If we're closer to the sun, shouldn't it be warmer, not colder?"

"That's a very good point. But the truth is that where we are relative to the sun isn't what solely judges the seasons. Rather it's the tilt of Earth's axis. This is why at certain points of the year, it can be summer in one place but winter in another."

"Really?" he asked in surprise.

"Well, in a sense. Typically, different parts of the world have different names for seasons as they're separated by different categories. For example, did you live on the coast in America?"

"Yes."

"You had 'Hurricane' seasons, right? Well in other places, they call this the wet season or the monsoon season. Some areas of the world even have two wet seasons and two dry seasons."

"So during wet seasons does it snow in colder places?"

"Great question," she beamed, causing him to smile sheepishly. "The answer is 'kind of'. I know that's not as clear cut or scientific as you may hope for. The truth is its mostly tropical places that have wet or dry seasons, rather than the four that are typically used: Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. Scientifically speaking, they're called Vernal, Estival, Autumnal, and Hibernal."

"You sure do know a lot about weather," he commented in awe.

"Well, I am a climatologist. Though, there are other scientists that study the weather as well. You may have heard the title 'meteorologist'. They too study weather patterns, but a bit differently. As a climatologist, I study the patterns of weather in certain areas over time as an average. Meteorologist make it more of a study in the atmosphere and studying weather patterns as they develop. Both are similar in their own ways, but at the same time, they're also very different fields of study. Are you still with me so far?"

"Yes. So you study the effects of weather over time in certain places. So why is it you were in Antarctica? I imagine the weather there is typically just 'snowy'. It doesn't really change much, does it?"

"Actually, you would be wrong," she giggled. "What if I told you that it doesn't have to snowing for there to be a blizzard?" Dan bit his tongue from blurting out something stupid in front of her, but she just smiled. "Don't worry. Most people have that misconception. Actually, a blizzard can occur simply because of heavy winds that pick up snow and hurl it around. Think like a sandstorm. Sand doesn't actually fall from the sky, but none the less it can make storms. Snow is the same way. When snow is falling and it's at least two inches, we call it a snowstorm. If the winds are more than 35 miles per hour or 56 kilometers per hour, we call it a blizzard. If the same wind conditions occur, but it picks up snow from the ground, we call it the incredibly creative name of a ground blizzard. But to answer your question, we were there to study a strange phenomenon that was occurring. It had been snowing for nearly a month in the Arctic before we arrived and it snowed up until I went into cryostasis and the roof caved in."

"Snowing is odd in the Arctic?"

"Incredibly so, actually. Though in truth, calling it the 'arctic' is a misnomer since I was in Antarctica and not the Arctic circle. In Antarctica, it's actually a desert."

"Bullshit."

"It is indeed. Though I imagine when I say 'desert' you think of sands and intense heat. Technically, a desert is any place that gets below an average of 10 inches or 250 millimeters of precipitation in a year. Antarctica on average only gets about 8 inches around the outside and even less than that in the center. It has high winds though, so the snow blowing around makes it look like it's always snowing. So to make a comparison, it'd be as if it started raining out of the blue in the middle of the Sahara."

"I must admit, your knowledge is really intimidating. I'm so worried I'm going to say something stupid now, I may just stay silent for the rest of today. You'd probably enjoy that though."

"Don't be silly," she laughed. "I'm not expecting you to know most of this stuff. Remember, I've been studying this for years. Anyway, we still don't know what was causing the snow, but in order to be able to even survive, we had to find a way to manipulate the climate to protect ourselves while also ensuring we didn't damage the ecosystem around us. Primarily, the penguins."

"Which is what we're working on today, right? We're making the machine you used to manipulate the climate."

"Exactly! That being said, I'll kind of explain some things as we go, but you know the basics now and that's what's important. If you don't mind, please hand me that acoustic stabilizer and a 2.5 millimeter allen wrench."

Fetching the items she needed, he watched in awe as she zoned in on her work. He was surprised by how quickly she seemed to move and think. To be honest, he felt like he was doing very little for her. Most of the things he would do were welding jobs to patch cracks in certain components or finding hardware for old stripped screws.

Again, the realization struck him of just how amazing Mei really was, and he couldn't help but be smitten, not only by her body but her intellect as well. She'd explain each component and its use, and Dan quickly committed every word to memory. He hung on to her every breath.

Which is why he was confused when she suddenly stopped before turning back towards him with a grin. "Well, we should probably break for lunch now."

"What? But it's only been…" Glancing down at his watch he was stunned to find that it was already almost noon. "We've been working for four hours already?"

"It's amazing how fast time goes when you're having fun, isn't it?" Standing up, she offered him her hand. "Would you mind showing me some places to eat around here? I'm afraid I haven't actually been to Gibraltar much, even before I was frozen."

"Gladly. I'll take you to one of my favorite places to eat. Besides, you'll get sick of bananas and peanut butter really quick when that's all that you eat." With the island itself being so small, the two of them decided to walk rather than drive. Not to mention that it was difficult getting in and out of Watchpoint as it was without being seen. This was easier, they decided. "I hope you don't mind steak. I'm afraid it's a rather big deal here. Or if not, I know they have seafood."

Linking her arm with his, she considered it thoughtfully for a moment, unable to notice the look of pure bliss on his face. "Hmmm...I know, I'll let you order for both of us. I'll have whatever you're having."

"Okay. I typically get steak, medium well, about 170 grams."

"That may be a bit small for me," she replied. "I'll probably get one size up. It's a bit more expensive but…" she froze. "Oh God, I forgot. I don't have any money. I doubt Overwatch has been paying my salary for the last five years, especially after shutting down."

Dan chuckled. "Don't worry about it. I'll cover you, okay? My treat. We'll call it a 'Welcome Back' celebration."

She nodded shyly. "Thank you," she whispered. "You've been so kind to me. I'm really sorry, I know that I can be a drag sometimes. I'm sure you were bored to tears listening to me go on and on about the weather."

"Of course not! I actually found what you said to be very interesting. I'm curious as to how this device of yours works. Does it just…" he paused, trying to come up with some idea. "I've got nothing that makes any scientific sense."

"It alters pressure," she grinned. "Using pressure, we can create whatever kind of effects we'd like from the weather. It was something I came up with when I was listening to one of Lucio's albums. The thumping in my head made me think of the way that storms are made. So I invented a device that can use acoustic waves to create pockets of compression or contraction. There's a lot more science involved than that, but basically, depending on how fast or slow we make the vibrations in the air, we can change what sort of weather occurs. That's part of the reason we can't do it all over the world. It's be nearly impossible to make the acoustic waves cover the entire planet, much less create the variations in pressure necessary to create the proper weather without damaging the ecosystem."

"And you invented this thing?"

"Yes. It took me a long time, but I managed to figure it out. It's surprisingly simple once you take the Coriolis Force into effect."

Dan's gaze was wide with awe. "You're so awesome, Mei! I don't think I've ever met someone as smart as you before."

She bashfully, kicked a rock across the ground as we moved along the street. "I'm not that smart," she murmured. "I'm just well-read is all. Anyone could do it if they wanted , I'm sure you're much brighter than I am."

"You're crazy," he laughed.

"You're the first person to ever revive someone out of cryostasis after more than a year. Unless I'm wrong and something has changed."

He shrugged his shoulders. "I didn't do much of anything with that anyhow. Athena was the one who gave me all the instructions. I'm just the one whose hands were used. Story of my life really."

Taking a seat in the booth opposite of her, Dan opened up the menu with a smile. "This place is so nice," she commented, her eyes looking around. "It's very romantic." Her dark chocolate eyes gleamed in the flickering candle light as she stared across at him. "S-sorry, I didn't mean anything by that. Sorry."

"It's fine," he assured her. "I'd be lucky to date a girl like you, Mei."

She turned a bright red, shifting in her chair as an awkward silence draped over the table. Dan worried that perhaps he'd been too forward with his comment, but Mei didn't seem upset, simply embarrassed. "So, you typically get the sirloin, right?"

"Y-yeah." Dan was never much for small talk. Even now, he struggled to think of a suitable topic. He couldn't very well discuss the weather. "So...where are you from, originally?"

Seemingly thankful for the change in topic, the climatologist adjusted her glasses. "Well, I was born in Xi'an in China. I lived in Li'jiang for a while, but in truth I don't really find my home as a place but a state of being. I'm sure that sounds strange. It's difficult to explain."

"Not at all, I get it. I mean, I always figure that home is where your friends are, right?"

"I suppose so," she beamed. "It is certainly one way to look at it."

"I've never actually been to Xi'an. What's it like?"

She smiled softly. "Beautiful," she whispered. "At night, the buildings glow like stars. It's always been a city rich in history, and many buildings there were still in tact despite the Omnecs last I visited. One of my favorite places was the Bell Tower."

"A bell tower?"

"I wish I could find words to describe it. It is a massive building and at night, the walls glow as if it were made of gold. Legend says that a long time ago, there was a river that flowed through the middle of the city. In the river there was a mischievous dragon who would constantly thrash about and make trouble. His thrashing was so powerful, it would cause earthquakes and thousands of people would die. The Emperor ordered all of the blacksmiths of the city to craft a massive chain and they bound up the dragon before sinking him in the river. To make sure he would never get out, he built the tower over the river and used it to restrain the dragon. Since then, Xi'an has never suffered another earthquake. Or so the legend says."

"Wow. I may have to see that some time. It does sound magnificent. I'm afraid most legends from where I'm from involve fictional creatures like rabbits with antlers on their head or alligators in the sewers. Nothing anywhere near as interesting."

Propping her chin on her hand, she found that she couldn't stop smiling at him. Curiosity was not a distant feeling for Mei, but even still, it seemed to consume her in regards to her assistant's past. When he spoke, he did so with a gentleness and kindness that she hadn't encountered often. In her experience, this kindness was something that wasn't taught but was grown. She couldn't imagine what sort of adventures he may have had, even if he didn't know of them.

Reaching into her pocket, she retrieved a small leather book. Flipping it open, she began to scribble inside of it, causing him to tilt his head confused. "What are you writing?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. How rude of me. This is my journal. Whenever I see or hear something I want to remember, I write it down so I won't ever forget it. I just was writing down what you said about the legends of your home. I've always found that the stories of our past shape us into who we are."

Just as he was about to speak again, a waitress came to take their order. Just as Mei stated, she ordered the same thing as himself, though she did get a slightly bigger steak. They ate in relative silence, though Dan found himself unable to look away from her.

His heart was beating fiercely in his chest and with that a very real fear came to him. One that Tracer had warned him about before, though he tried very hard to lock it away. What if she would never see him in the same light that he saw her? "Is there something on my face?" she asked.

"I didn't mean to stare. Sorry. I was just lost in thought for a moment. Can I ask you a personal question?"

"You saved my life, I think that entitles you to a question or two," she teased. "What did you want to know?"

"The question is going to be strange, and if you don't want to answer it you don't have to. It's just for curiosity's sake."

"You seem nervous. Really, it's fine. Whatever you ask, I won't mind."

He took a deep breath, summoning his courage. "I just wanted to ask...what do you find attractive in a man?"

Immediately, Mei felt flustered by the question. "Umm...I suppose what I ultimately look for is companionship. I'd want someone to go on adventures with me. Someone that I could make memories with that I would cherish forever. He wouldn't have to be anything impressive. I don't care if he's smart or strong or what he'd look like. Just being there would be really more than enough. I'm sorry, I know that's an odd answer. You just kind of caught me off guard. I haven't thought about it often." Dan nodded his head in understanding. He could do that. Be there for her? He already was. He'd do just about anything she'd ask him to. "What about you? What do you look for in a woman? Let me guess," she put a finger to her lips, "I bet you're the kind of guy who likes a partner who is really social and energetic."

He chuckled to himself. "I fear I'm actually not much for socializing. I don't mind it, but...I'm really more shy and timid. It'd be exhausting to be around someone with so much energy. It's the journey, not the destination, right? I'd want someone who could appreciate that journey. I'd want her to be smart and passionate about what she believes in."

"So you're into scientists," she noted with a giggle. "I suppose that makes sense. I just assumed that you would be more interested in a girl like Tracer than in a girl like me."

"Tracer?" he asked in surprise. "No, no, no. Her and I are like brother and sister. I'm not attracted to her that way. Like I said, she kind of wears me out sometimes. It's so hard to keep up with her train of thought that whenever we've spent any ample time together I feel like I need a nap. If it were a choice between the two of you, you'd win, hands down." His words made Mei turn an even brighter red than before, causing him to quickly stammer out an apology. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean that to come out that way. I'm sorry if I embarrassed you."

"No, no. It's fine, really. I'm glad we had this talk. I feel like I'm getting to know you much better now." As the waiter came and cleared the plates, her eyes remained locked in his. Dan could feel her staring straight through him and into his mind and he prayed that his feelings would remain secret, at least for now. "So, can I ask you a question, now?"

"Anything you like."

"Why are you so reluctant to learn to defend yourself?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, most guys I know would be thrilled to go to a shooting range. I was just curious if there was some reason you didn't want to."

"Yeah," he whispered, "there is. I told you about how my family and I were cornered by some omnecs when I was a teenager, right? I was never more scared in my life. It was terrifying. These cold, lifeless, machines were just mowing down people. Innocent people who hadn't done anything. I'll admit, it's been really hard convincing myself that the omnecs are just like us. But one thing I learned that day is that when a gun is used, people get hurt. Sometimes, even good ones. I don't want to hurt people."

She smiled softly at him, reaching across to rest her hand on his. "I understand. I felt similarly before I learned how to shoot. Though, I suppose I picked it up a little differently. I was exploring the forested mountains of Shichuan as one of my first expeditions. It's a beautiful place where bamboo grows so tall, you can barely see the sky. There, I managed to find a mother Panda and her two cubs. I began following them to study them, but unfortunately, I was not the only one doing so. The poachers had followed them across the mountain and had set up traps along the way to capture the babies." Her voice became low and somber as she continued her story, her expression growing darker and more serious. "One day, I found the mother caught in a snare and her cubs locked in cages. I tried to release them, but a poacher put a gun to my head and told me to stop or he'd shoot. Reluctantly, I did as he asked and moved back. I watched as he leveled his weapon towards the mother. I didn't even think about what happened next. I drew the gun from one of his friends' holsters, pointed it and shot. It was the first time I'd ever killed anyone before. It was awful. I had nightmares about it for days after that. But then, one day, I saw the same mother and cubs walking along the mountain path and I realized that by taking one life, I'd saved another three." She bit her lip, looking down at the empty table and drawing her hand away. "I'm sorry. I imagine you probably think less of me to value the lives of animals over that of a man."

"Not at all," he quickly retorted. "I mean...I'm sure you didn't just kill him because you felt like it, right?"

She smiled weakly. "I always try to find a peaceful solution first. But the world is one worth saving, you know? Sometimes, things must die so others can live. When I shot at those assassins, I didn't do it because I wanted to hurt them. I did it because I didn't want you to get hurt. It's the same reason I'm making you go to practice with Tracer. It's not because I don't want your help in the lab. It's because I don't want you to get hurt. Understand?"

"Yes, ma'am."

After the waiter brought the check, the two made their way back to the lab. The conversations they had along the way seemed to bring them closer together. They talked about music and movies, sharing the minute details of what made up their lives.

Soon, however, their conversations came to an end when they reached the door. "Thanks again for lunch. I'll be sure to pay you back once money comes my way."

"That's not necessary," Dan said. "I would have wanted to treat you anyway. I...I really like talking to you, Mei. I can't explain it, but I feel like we're already close friends and that's not something that's easy for me. I really hope that's not strange."

"I feel the same way," she promised. "And don't worry. I won't start working on the machine again until you're back. If you like that is. You seemed interested, but if you're not and you're just a really good actor, this would be your chance to back out." She was teasing, of course, but at the same time there was a glimmer of nervousness hidden beneath them.

"I appreciate that. I'm actually a rather bad actor. I want to learn everything I can from you, Mei. Because of that is the only reason I'm not going kicking and screaming to the gun range."

Just as she was about to speak again, Tracer zipped from Winston's lab to rest beside them, a smile on her face. "Welcome back, you two. How was lunch? I hope you behaved yourself, Dan or else I'm going to be extra tough on you today in training."

He was not pleased by her insinuation, but Mei didn't hesitate to speak up for him. "He was a perfect gentleman. I hope you two will have fun. Let me know if he acts up, Tracer and I'll devise something for him." She stuck out her tongue playfully as the two set out to leave.

Dan waved farewell to his boss, as Tracer moved closer to him. "So, how did your 'date' go?"

"Pretty well, actually," he replied. "I started to have some doubts for a moment, but...I still think I have a chance. What's really funny is she thought that you and I were a thing."

"Us?" Tracer laughed. "Wouldn't that be something?"

"It'd certainly explain why you're so gung-ho to keep us apart," Dan teased. "Just so you know, I intend on putting you through the ringer. Sorry, 'love', but I think you may have met your match now."

She playfully punched his arm. "Oh, look at the cocky, son-of-a-bitch. Don't count me out of the race just yet, _love_. As we both know, I'm never one to give up on a competition."

As the two continued onward, Mei smiled taking a deep breath. Suddenly, however, her chest was gripped with a sudden spike of pain that sent her to her knees. She tried to open her mouth to call for them, but all that came was a series of hacking coughs that revealed specks of blood.

When nothing more came out, she placed her hand to her chest to find her heart racing. As it began to slow, a feeling of dread began to slowly trickle over her. Immediately going into the lab, she grabbed a cotton swab and though it made her gag, took a sample from the back of her throat. "Athena?" she wheezed.

"Mei, are you all right? You sound ill."

"I...I don't know. I need you to run an analysis on this sample. Get me the results when you can. But I need you to do something for me."

"What do you need?"

"Keep this test a secret from Dan."

To be continued...


	4. Chapter 4

Enraptured in Ice Ch. 4

 **AN: Hey everyone, sorry that took so long. It took me a while to get through this chapter, but I finally did it! Whoo! Things are finally starting to come together, and I hope that you've thoroughly enjoyed the story thus far. Thanks again for all of your support and reviews :D I really appreciate them. -Kiba**

Tracers hands were a blur as she quickly disassembled her gun, setting the different parts down on the table in front of Dan. "These," she explained, beginning to repeat the process with the second one, "are Pulse Pistols. They hold forty energy rounds in a charge and fires the entire charge in one second. What they lack in accuracy, they more than make up for in firing rate and punch. In addition, they have a spring assisted hair trigger, meaning that it takes almost no force at all to pull the trigger. However, I'm not going to let you use my guns. These are my babies."

Picking up another gun, she held it up for Dan to see. It was one that looked familiar to him, though he couldn't place why. "Where did you get that?"

"I borrowed it. Don't worry about it. Stop asking questions. This is the Peacekeeper. It's an old-fashioned, single-action, six-shot revolver. This means it fires physical bullets, not energy based ones like you may be familiar with. It's got kick to it, so you've got to hold it steady and firmly. It's not loaded right now, so get a feeling for the weight."

Taking it in his grip, he was shocked by how heavy the small device was. The cold steel felt foreign in his hands as he leveled it towards the targets at the end of the range. "It feels...weird," he commented, closing one eye.

"Keep both eyes open, line the sight up with the notch. Wherever the gun is pointed at that point, that's where your bullet will go." Wrapping her arms around him, she slipped one leg between his and hooked her foot on his ankle. "Pull this leg back, and center your weight. There you go."

"Now it feels _really_ weird."

"The peacemaker is powerful. If you're not careful it will knock you on your ass. Now it's a single-action. That means you have to pull back the hammer first." Flipping a switch on the side, she slowly drew back the metal arm at the back of the barrel. "Now the gun is cocked and ready to fire. Exhale slowly and pull the trigger."

With a loud and thunderous crack, the gun leapt back in his hands, causing Dan to drop it with a start. "Screw this," he grumbled, turning to leave, but with a flash Tracer blocked his path. "Look, this just isn't for me. Okay? I can't do this. I don't want to."

"You're doing fine," she tried, but still he shook his head, unmoving from his spot. He was trembling where he stood, his arms wrapped around himself as he struggled to maintain eye contact with her. "Dan...it's a dangerous world we live in. You need to learn to defend yourself. What if your life was in danger? What if _Mei_ was in danger?"

A flash of anger appeared in his eyes. "Don't do that," he growled. "Don't try to use her like that to get what you want from me."

"Danny, this is important and if Mei were here, she'd agree with me."

"I said, stop!" He bellowed, causing Tracer to flinch in surprise. "I don't care what you want or what you think of me Tracer, but don't use Mei as some way of manipulating me! I won't stand for it."

"Dan," Tracer stated calmly to get his attention. "What is the problem? You had no difficulties shooting at Reaper and Widowmaker. Why can't you shoot at a paper target down the range?"

"I...I didn't shoot at them," he murmured, just loud enough for her to hear. "I just...I just stood there and pretended to shoot. I couldn't bring myself to do it. Guns scare me. I don't want anything to do with them."

Tracer was beginning to feel frustrated. Rubbing her temples, she replied, "The only way to overcome your fears is by facing them. Pick up the gun and try again."

"No."

"Then go home!" she finally snapped. "Everyone in Overwatch has had to make sacrifices Danny, but if you're not willing to do that then pack your things and leave!" As soon as the words left her lips, she'd wished they hadn't. Shoving her out of the way, Dan took off at a full sprint. "Dan, stop!" she called after him, but he refused.

With a zip, she tried to cut him off, but he quickly dashed down a side corridor, disappearing in the labyrinth of boxes and scaffolds in the warehouse.

As Dan continued fleeing from his former friend, he glanced over his shoulder to see if she was still pursuing. When he didn't see any sign of her, he looked forward, just as an arm extended out from a corner, catching him square in the chest and sending him on to his back with a pained groan.

From the shadows, a bright orange glow lit up a grizzled face, as the man took a deep drag from his cigar. Exhaling the smoke into the air, the lab assistant tried to scramble away from the man. "You made a big mistake comin' to rip this place off, punk," he growled, walking calmly in his direction.

"What? N-no, I work here," Dan protested. The man's spurs jangled with every step as he reached down and grabbed him by the front of his shirt, easily lifting him from the ground before throwing him against the wall.

As he did, the man's dusty poncho parted to reveal that the thing that gripped him was in fact a robotic arm. "You can't bullshit a bullshitter son, and believe me I've spent some time bullshittin' the best of them," he answered. "Now, normally, I wouldn't give a thrice damned bit if you were robbin' this place, but considerin' that my baby's gone missin' and you just so happened to be runnin' rather suspiciously after she cried out for me, well...I reckon that means you may know a thing or two."

"What?"

The man rolled his eyes before painfully slamming Dan into the wall again. "My gun. Where's my Peacekeeper?"

Dan's eyes widened with recognition. The gun that Tracer had had him shoot must have belonged to this man. She'd said she borrowed it, but if she took it from him, that could mean this guy was trouble. Considering his treatment of himself, Dan kept his mouth shut. "I don't know."

"Bullshit, son. You reek of gunpowder and my gun's one of the only few that still uses it on this here complex. Now I'll ask you one more time before I start gettin' angry." Taking the cigar out of his mouth, he exhaled a bitter cloud straight into Dan's face before holding the lit end just a short way from his cheek. "Where's...my...gun?"

Taking a deep breath, Dan quickly lashed out with his leg towards the man's chest. If he hit him hard enough in his solar plexus, maybe he'd get the opportunity to escape. With a hard metallic clang, his shoe collided with the hidden armor plating beneath the attacker's poncho.

"Fine," he snarled. "Have it your way."

Just as he was about to press the burning hot embers into the younger man's flesh, something slammed hard into him, forcing him to release Dan. Standing between the two of them was Tracer, fists clenched and ready to fight.

"So we got someone else who wants to fight?" the cowboy asked, hurling a small device towards them both.

Dan shoved Tracer hard out of the way, just as the grenade erupted in his eyes with a concussive bang, leaving him blinded and unable to hear anything as he tried to maintain his balance.

Rolling to his feet, the man lifted his hat from the ground, tugging it back down on to his head. The woman the boy had shoved out of the way now raced towards him in streaks of blue light that he immediately recognized. "Hold up, now! I ain't your enemy, partner," he shouted quickly, just as her fist slammed hard into his jaw.

Dan's vision slowly began to come back as the ringing in his ears continued to pierce his brain with their shrillness. Extending his arm, he rested his weight against the crate. He felt ashamed and humiliated that once again, Tracer had come to his rescue.

Having grappled him to the ground, the ex-pilot was began punching him repeatedly until the man held up his hands. "Damn it, Tracer, it's me!" As her eyes began to adjust to the darkness of the alley, the man's tired old face became more distinct as she let his cloak slip through her fingers. "Shit. You still have one hell of a right hook, you know that?"

"McCree? What are you doing here?" she asked nervously.

"Stoppin' some punk from robbin' you blind. You're welcome by the way."

"Robbing…? You mean Dan? He works here, you moron!"

"Don't call me a moron, moron! You're the one who punched me in the face."

Tracer clambered off of him, helping him up before turning to see that once again Dan had disappeared from her sight. "Damn it, not again. All right McCree, listen up. If you want your gun back, and not thrown into the ocean, you're going to help me find Dan, understand?"

His eyes sharpened on her. "You know where my Peacekeeper is?"

"Yeah, I do. Now are you going to help me find him or not?"

"Fine," he grumbled, turning and walking away from her. "He went this way, here."

"How in the…"

"I can smell him. Boy's covered in gunpowder. Don't tell me you're losing your edge," he sneered. "Why you lookin' for this kid anyway? He couldn't fight to save his life, but if he works here that means he must be a box-pusher of some kind."

"He's a friend," she huffed. "I was _trying_ to teach him how to shoot, but we got into an argument and he ran away. I had lost him up until I heard you threatening him. I thought you were some Talon assassin. Thank God neither of us were armed, right?"

"What were you two arguin' about?" he asked, ignoring her question.

"Dan's...he's a bit gunshy, is all. I got frustrated and I told him to pack his bags and leave. Truthfully though, that's the last thing I'd want him to do. He works really hard here. He and I haven't been seeing eye to eye a lot lately. This shooting practice was supposed to be a way for us to get along more."

"Well that's stupid," he commented, causing Tracer to shoot him a glare.

"Beg pardon?"

"If you want the lad to open up to you, why in the hell did you think it was a good idea to make him do something he clearly doesn't want to do? I mean hell, trainin' a dog is one thing, but makin' a kid comfortable with a gun is a...wait a God-damned minute, you were letting him shoot my gun, weren't you?!"

"I thought it'd be easier than using one of my pulse pistols," she muttered.

He shook his head in frustration. "You're a fuckin' idiot," he grumbled. "C'mon, let's find your brat. I'm sure I'll be able to talk some sense into him after you apologize."

"Why would I apologize?"

"For scarin' him half to death. The Peacekeeper kicks like a damned mule and barks like a pitbull. If I was a gunshy kid, I'd be pissed about being forced to shoot it, too. Shit, you really don't know jack about people."

Tracer sighed in surrender, simply bowing her head and staring at the ground. She really hoped that Dan wouldn't hate her for this.

"We should split up," McCree suggested. "I'll go talk to Winston. You see if you can find him packing his bags. I doubt it though. That stun grenade I hit him with should keep him nice and docile for a while."

She nodded her head in agreement, splitting from his path to find her lost friend.

* * *

Dan was still dizzy when he stumbled back into the lab, shutting the door hard behind him and sliding down it. "Dan?! Are you okay?" Mei rushed to his side, crouching before him and shaking him gently. "Can you hear me, Dan?"

Looking up into her face, he smiled at her, but even still the loud bang to his ears prevented him from being able to hear her voice louder than a muffled whisper. "I'm sorry...Mei…" he slurred, resting his head against the door. "I...I couldn't…"

"Athena, scan the perimeter of Watchpoint and inform me of how many lifeforms are detected. Include omnecs in that search," Mei ordered.

"Scanning now...Including members of the crew, there are five life forms detected. Registered identities confirmed: Winston, Mei, Tracer, McCree, Daniel McQueen."

"McCree? Who's McCree?"

"Checking Authority level. Jesse McCree had already made a name for himself as a member of the notorious Deadlock Gang, which trafficked in illicit weapons and military hardware throughout the American Southwest, when he and his associates were busted in an Overwatch sting operation. With his expert marksmanship and resourcefulness, he was given the choice between rotting in a maximum-security lockup or joining Blackwatch, Overwatch's covert ops division. He chose the latter."

"Blackwatch?" she gasped, turning to look back at the ragged Dan. "Tā māde niǎo!" Running to her desk, she ripped open one of the drawers and retrieved her gun, checking it to ensure that it was fully charged. "Athena, activate all lights in the complex and inform Winston of the intruder's presence. I'm going to find him before he can hurt anyone else."

"Yes ma'am."

Opening the door, Mei quickly tumbled out into the light, leveling her gun down the roadway and carefully walking towards the gun range. She was furious that not only had he attacked Dan, but that he did so while Dan was unarmed and untrained.

Hearing the jingling of what sounded like spurs, she stopped, ducking behind a crate. Just as the footsteps came closer, she dove out, turning and firing an energy round straight through the mechanical shoulder of the cowboy. "What in tarnation?!" he cried as another shot severed the limb from him, sending it clattering to the ground as he held up his human hand. "Now hold on there, little lady! There ain't no need to go scratchin' that trigger finger. I'm just here lookin' for a kid."

"Yeah, I bet," she snapped, keeping her gun trained on him and making her way towards him. "You were the one who attacked Dan, weren't you?!"

"You got it all wrong. I mean, yeah, I did, but I wasn't…"

"Bì zuǐ! I don't want to hear your excuses. Get on the ground, now!"

He sighed, slowly getting to his knees and placing his one hand behind his head. "Listen, ma'am. I'm not what you think. It was just a simple misunderstandin' is all. The boy ain't seriously hurt, there's no need to get all..."

"Shut up," she interrupted coldly. "I will not ask again."

Just then, Tracer dashed to her side. "Mei, what are you doing?!" she exclaimed, lifting the barrel of the gun from McCree. "He's a friend."

"A friend?!" she snapped at Tracer. "He attacked Dan and you're calling him a friend?"

"Dan's fine," Tracer promised. "It was just a stun grenade. It was my fault he attacked Dan, okay? I borrowed his gun and he thought that Dan was the one who took it. Please, put the gun away."

Mei took deep breaths, before beginning to cough roughly. Losing her balance, she collapsed into Tracer's arms, the gun clattering to the ground from her grip.

"Mei? What's wrong? Mei?" Tracer looked to McCree helplessly as he stood up. "She's out cold. I don't know what's wrong. We woke her up from cryostasis just yesterday."

"Let's get her inside, we'll have Athena take a look at her," he assured her, clasping the younger woman on the shoulders. Picking up the gun, he tucked it into his waistband before helping Tracer carry Mei inside.

As the doors opened, Tracer saw Dan, head against the wall and groaning. "Damn it," she muttered. Could today possibly go any worse? Laying Mei on a cot, she went to Dan, helping him up as well. "C'mon, Danny. Let's get you to bed," she urged, as he weakly struggled against her.

"N-no," he slurred. "Let me go. I want to leave."

"Don't be like that. We can talk about it later, love. Okay?"

Putting him on the cot, he turned over to see Mei, her eyes closed and coughing violently as small spurts of blood pooled around her lips. "Mei?" he whispered, his senses seemingly starting to return to him. "What happened to Mei? Is she okay?"

"We're going to find out," Tracer promised. "McCree, can you send a message to Mercy telling her to report to Gibraltar as soon as she possibly can?"

"I can try, but you know that missy isn't much of a fan of we folk."

Dan's hand shakily extended outward, his fingertips brushing against Mei's. Unconsciously, her hand turned, fingers slipping between his as her coughing began to subside. "Athena, run a diagnostic on Mei and determine the cause of her illness. I'll get a sample."

"She's already initiated a diagnostic, Tracer. She has also requested that her results not be shared in the presence of Dan."

"Dan?"she asked stupefied, turning back to see him, tears streaming down his face. Her heart was breaking for him as she watched him caress her hand in affection. "Why would she keep it a secret from him?"

* * *

In another area of the world, Dr. Angela Ziegler continued to remove the long surgical gloves that had extended up her pale arms. Content that she did a job well done, she discarded them and began to leave, just as a man came rushing to her. "Doctor, you have a call from Gibraltar. They say that it's urgent."

Mercy sighed, nodding in gratitude from the man before taking the phone. "Winston? I thought I sent you the message telling you to forward any problems you had to Dan. He should be able to handle it."

"Not quite, Doc."

"Jesse. It's a surprise to hear from you after so long. How have you been?" Beneath her polite words was a thin veil of cynicism and distaste. It wasn't that she disliked Jesse McCree, but rather she disliked his philosophy of solving problems with the hot end of a shooting iron.

"Now ain't the time for chit-chat, Doc. We got problems here in Gibraltar and we're in need of your healin'."

"I can't just abandon a patient. Talk to Dan, I'm sure he'll be able to stitch you up just fine and send you on your way."

"Damn it, woman. This isn't something some kid can just up and solve. This little lady here is coughin' up blood like she swallowed a fistful of thumb tacks, and worse, she told Athena not to give us the results of the diagnosis."

"Why doesn't Tracer use her time recall to go back before she was injured?"

"It's not me, Dr. Ziegler," Tracer interrupted, appearing beside McCree. "Dan, removed a woman from the cryopods that was still alive. It's Mei-Ling Zhou. She seemed fine, but today she collapsed and started coughing up blood."

"Mei?!" Mercy asked in shock. "You said that Mei is there with you?!"

"Yes, and she needs your help."

The doctor looked over her shoulder towards the operating table where another set of surgeons had come to take over another specialized part of his body. Unless there were complications, he should be fine but… "I can't just leave, Tracer. The President is still in critical condition here. If he starts to crash they'll...did you say that she was cryogenically frozen?"

"Yes," she replied.

"How in the world did Dan get her out of there alive?"

"I don't know, Doc. We had to fight off an assault by Talon before we could really get the details. Point is: Dan's out of commission, Mei is sick and coughing up blood, and we could really, really use your help. I know you don't like us, but…please. Do it for, Dan."

"For Dan?"

"He and Mei have grown really close over the last few days. He has something of a crush on her."

Dr. Ziegler rubbed her forehead in frustration and she weighed her options. Tracer was right about her feelings for Overwatch, but she'd always had a soft spot for Winston and his assistant. They always seemed so much more...innocent. "Have Athena send me Mei's diagnostics," Mercy instructed. "If she puts up a struggle, tell her I'm initiating override command #13-5-4-9-3. I'll review the data on the plane ride over. Give me a few hours to wrap up here and I'll be on my way."

"Thank you, Angela. I know Dan would really appreciate it."

"Speaking of Dan, start treating him now. If it's a minor enough wound, you should be able to without any problems at all. No excuses," she replied coldly before hanging up.

"Ma'am?"

"Sorry, but it looks as if I'm being called to another emergency. The President should be out of the woods for now. If he beings to seize, give him 35ccs of metrotroptoline."

"Yes, Doctor. Thank you."

She smiled warmly to the man. "It was my pleasure. Tell him that all I ask in return is that he continues the good work he's doing in the attempt to unite omnecs and humans." With that, she quickly made her way to the airport where her plane waited patiently for her arrival. Stepping inside, she sighed, sinking into a seat before blowing a blonde curl out of her face. "No rest for the wicked," she grumbled

* * *

Hanging up the phone, Dan began to sit up, his body swaying slightly. "Ugh, my head."

"Dan!" Tracer cried, hugging him tightly. "Thank God, you're back to normal."

"More or less. Not so loud, please."

"Yep. Them flashbang's gonna hurt like a bitch," McCree replied to him before letting out a hiss as Winston's torch singed a bit of his flesh. "Watch what you're doin' you damn, dirty, ape."

"If you don't like it, you're more than welcome to let the man you blinded and deafened take a crack at it," Winston shot back. "Mei really did a number on your arm. You must have made her really pissed off."

"I tried to tell her...ungh...that it was a misunderstandin'."

That was when Dan noticed her still figure beside him on her cot, unmoving, but her breathing heavy and ragged. "Mei?" he whispered, moving closer to her. "Mei, what's wrong?"

Her eyes were closed as her chest heaved painfully, unable to respond. Tracer placed her hands on Dan's shoulder, trying to steer him away. "C'mon, Dan. Let's take a walk."

"Let go of me," he snapped, shrugging her off. "What's wrong with her?"

"We're not sure, but Athena told us we're not allowed to hear the diagnosis while you're in the room as per Mei's orders."

Dan felt incredibly torn. He didn't want to leave, he wanted to stay by her side and he wanted to help to make sure she was better. He was hurt because she intended to hide this from him, instead of opening to him like he'd hoped. Finally, he was scared because deep down inside of his heart, he feared that this was his fault. Maybe he messed up the revival process or something. Maybe, since he couldn't bring himself to shoot at the Talon agents, she was injured by the poisoned gas while her body was still vulnerable.

"Dan, please. Let's go," Tracer urged, but he just sat there, looking down at the unconscious scientist.

"This is all my fault," he whispered. "This is because of me. I was so arrogant and selfish that I wanted to prove myself by making sure I brought her back from cryosleep. I didn't even give a damn about what may have happened, so instead of waiting for Dr. Ziegler, I did it myself." His body was trembling as he leaned closer to her and without a second thought, placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. "I'm sorry, Mei."

Her face scrunched up as he pulled away, turning and grumbling in her stupor. Taking a deep breath, he stood up, leaving the room. Rushing outside, he slammed the door shut behind him, only for Tracer to follow close behind. "Dan."

"What do you want Tracer?" he snapped, storming towards Winston's lab.

"I want you to stop and talk to me. I know you're upset, but…"

"But you don't give a damn. Yeah, I'm aware!"

"You know that's not true," she argued, zipping in front of him. "Will you slow down, please?"

At her urging, he finally slowed to a stop. "Fine. What is it?"

"About what I said earlier. I was just angry and frustrated. I don't want you to leave, so please don't think that. I get you're scared of guns. I shouldn't have forced it on you and I should have taken you through steps instead of tossing you into it."

"Is that all?" he asked. "If so, you'll have to excuse me. I've got a life to save."

"Dan, stop. She didn't want you to know she was sick for a reason. You should respect that?"

He stopped, taking a deep breath before wheeling on her. "What good is respect if she's dead, Tracer? I'd rather her be angry with me and be alive than be happy with me and dead. If it was my fault that she's like this, then I need to do what I can to help her."

"What do you plan on doing?"

"Don't worry about it. You wouldn't understand if I told you."

"Dan!"

He ignored her now as she followed him into the lab. Winston looked down in confusion, clambering down to swing in front of him with a thud. "Dan, Tracer's trying to talk to you."

"I'm well aware, sir, but I'm a little busy right now, so if you could just move aside, I'll handle my work and get on with my life."

Winston however, did not budge. Instead, he leaned back on his hind legs, stretching to stand a looming five feet taller than Dan. "You will show her respect, Dan. We are your friends, but we are also still your superiors. If you ever want to be a member of Overwatch, you'll have to…"

"TO HELL WITH OVERWATCH!" Dan shouted, catching both of them off guard. "Overwatch had its damn chance to save the world and they botched it! They don't exist anymore and I'm not going to sit idly by while a friend of mine is dying because some defunct mercenaries masquerading as heroes tells me to. Now step aside." Without even waiting for an answer, Dan slipped under the stunned Winston's arm. "Athena! Extract nanobot samples from the corpses of the nineteen other scientists and compile them into a slide please."

"Complying," she commented, the needles quickly injecting into the different corpses and collecting them as a thick murky liquid. Soon, a single drop of liquid was encased between two pieces of glass and presented to Dan to take. Winston began to tremble in anger, but Tracer quickly placed her hands on his chest trying to calm him down.

"It's okay, big guy," she assured him. "He's just upset. He didn't mean it."

"You think he'd be more grateful after everything we've done for him," he huffed, turning away to storm off. Tracer just looked back to her friend who was now hunched over a microscope.

Walking back to his side, she pulled a chair beside him. "Whatcha doin'?" she whispered in his ear, trying to lift his spirits.

"Athena was able to get Mei out of the ice by manipulating the nanobots in her body to warm her outer skin but keep her inner skin cold. Maybe the nanobots are doing something to her."

As he turned the knobs to bring the microscopic machines into focus, it showed them creating some sort of energy field that was causing the liquid they were in to crystalize.

"They're using some sort of anti-induction field. It's how they cool her down. If these ones are still cooling, then that could mean that something went wrong. Athena! Give me a scan of the bodies."

Looking up to the projector, it began to conjure an image of their internal systems. Life signs were of course flat, but that's not what Dan was concerned about. Touching the holoscreen, it zoomed into the chest of one of the scientists, and separating the components, he was soon looking at solely the lungs. Inside of them was some sort of cloudy anomaly.

"What is that?" Tracer asked.

"I think I know, but just to be sure...Athena, run a spectrograph of the anomaly and provide the components."

After a few moments, she let out a chirp to alert him that her work was done. "Results indicate that the material is formed of one part carbon and two parts oxygen." Standing up, Dan walked to the body and carefully opened its mouth.

"Dan?"

Placing his hands on its chest, he pressed, causing a hiss of air to escape as a smoky mist emitted from their mouth and nose. "It's worse than I thought."

"What is it?"

"Carbon dioxide. The nanobots solidified it in their lungs. That's what's wrong with Mei. Her lungs are filling with dry ice. They're hurting her lungs and she's struggling to breathe. We don't have much time. Athena, hack into the nanobots signal and stop them."

"Complying... Apologies, Dan. It seems that something is interfering with my command signal and is overriding it. I am unable to control them."

"Damn it!" he snapped. "I'll have to do something else." He began to rush around the lab, scooping up different electronic components. "Tracer, give me one of your pulse bombs."

"What? Dan, you're insane. Dr. Zeigler is on her way, you should…"

"I don't have time to argue with you Tracer, just do it!" he shouted before taking a breath and calming himself. "Please," he begged, "Mei's life is in danger. She won't last long enough for Mercy to help her."

Reaching to her pack, she placed the bomb carefully on the table in front of him. "Okay," she whispered. "I understand. I'm trusting you, Dan."

"Thank you," he replied, silently turning back to begin disassembling the pulse bomb. He didn't have much time, he knew, but he had to do something. He'd rather risk her life then let her continue to suffer as she was.

"What _is_ your plan?"

"If we can't control the nanobots, the least we can do is shut them down. I'm modifying your pulse bomb to create an EMP to put them out of commission. Then we put her on oxygen and manually pump her lungs to quickly sublimate the remaining crystals and pray that they didn't damage her lungs to the point of no return."

Removing the hull of the bomb, he very carefully began to remove the solder, pausing to wipe his forehead of sweat with the back of his hand. Grasping a pair of tweezers, he carefully lifted a pulsing blue sphere and set it aside. Curious, Tracer began to marvel at its color.

"Don't touch that," Dan instructed quickly, continuing to make his changes to the circuitry.

"What does it do?"

"It goes 'boom'."

"Ah."

Now that he'd finished with the circuitry, he turned to the sphere, using a scalpel like knife to carefully remove what looked like a gel membrane around the sphere. It was the gel, Tracer discovered that was glowing the pretty blue color. "Is this safe to touch?"

"Ground yourself first," he replied, taking the metallic sphere that was inside and replacing it back into the socket. As he finished reassembling the device, he found that it was completed and with a sigh, he allowed himself a moment to take a breath.

Not listening to Dan's warning, she grasped the gel, just before it hardened in her fingers like tiny rocks before splitting apart into thousands of slivers that stuck in her finger tips and rained down to the table top. "Ow, ow, ow."

"Should have listened," Dan lectured. "I'll get the splinters out later. For now, I need to get this to Mei quickly." Rushing out of Winston's lab, the ape watched the two curiously, his temper already starting to subside.

Soon, all of those present in the base stood around the unconscious Mei who was gasping for breath. Placing the mask over her mouth and nose, Dan flipped the necessary switches to start the oxygen flow before placing the modified pulse bomb on her chest. "Winston, you'll want to leave. Tracer, you too. McCree, if you have any electrical components necessary to your survival or ability to move, you will need to leave, too. This thing will shut down any electronic devices. That includes armors and chrono accelerators." Leaving, as instructed, Dan found himself now alone with Mei. "Athena, perform hard reboot. Delay power on for 1/10th of a cycle."

"Are you sure about this, Dan?"

"No," he admitted finally. "But I have to do something now or she will die. I'll see you in an hour okay?"

"All right, Dan. I wish you luck."

With a low whir, the hum of Athena's processor within the building dimmed into silence. Dan pressed the button on the pulse bomb, causing it to begin to beep frantically before an brilliant flash emerged outward, followed by all of the lights casting the room into pitch black. The EMP had worked.

Discarding the spent 'bomb', he quickly leaned down, placing his cheek on Mei's chest. Her heart was still beating, but she wasn't breathing. That's when he realized the oxygen machine too was affected by the pulse. Swearing, he ripped the mask from Mei. Parting her lips, he tilted her head back and placed his over hers. This was not the way he'd hoped he would have his first kiss with her, but right now, he only cared about one thing: saving her life.

Exhaling into her mouth, her chest rose beneath him. Pulling back, he placed his hands between her breasts. He was amazed by how soft and warm they felt, but still he focused himself and gently pressed downward, causing a wheeze of air to escape Mei's lungs.

Still she wasn't breathing yet. He repeated the process again, placing his lips over hers, filling her lungs with air and squeezing the remaining dry ice from her lungs. Nothing.

"Come on, Mei. Please. Please, don't leave me yet," he begged, his eyes beginning to water as he tried again and again with no results. "Damn it, Mei, don't do this to me!" When nothing happened, he felt his heart shatter in his chest. "I'm so sorry, Mei. I'm so, so, sorry."

Salty tears began to stream from his eyes as he placed his hand gently on her cheek. Leaning downward, he placed his lips against hers once more, though this time it was in a gentle and loving kiss. With one last sigh of surrender, he pulled from her, sinking back into his chair.

Just then, Mei's eyes flew open as she let out a pained gasp, coughing and hacking fiercely as she sat up in shock.

"Mei!" Dan quickly embraced her, holding her tightly in his arms. "Damn it, you scared me so badly," he whimpered. "I'll do whatever you want me to, okay? I'll shoot guns, I'll learn weather, I don't care."

"Dan?" she murmured confused as he buried his face in her neck.

"I'll do anything," he repeated. "Just promise me. Promise me you won't leave me like that again." He clutched her tightly to him, unable to see the timid blush that was on her cheeks as her hand gently rose to brush against her lips. She could still feel the soft sensation of his kiss, her mind reeling to pick up the precious moments when it had briefly been unable to process the world around her.

"You saved me again, didn't you?" she whispered. "Now I owe you my life twice over, Dan."

"Don't worry about that now," he breathed back. "I'm just glad that you're still here."

The two sat in the dark for a long time, his arms wrapped around her in a protective and loving embrace. She pressed against him, eyes closed and weak as she allowed the warmth of his body to serve as a shield against the scary coldness of her near-death. Once the moment had finally passed, only one question was on Dan's mind...what was it that had manipulated the nanobots to try to kill Mei?

To be continued...


	5. Chapter 5

Enraptured in Ice Ch. 5

AN: Hey everyone! Chapter five now completed! Sorry this one took a little longer than usual. It's been tough finding inspiration. If you're interested, I have some original work that I could use some feedback on. If not, just a review is more than enough to make my day and I'll try to reply to them when I can. I hope you enjoy and be sure to spread the word to your friends about my work. Thanks again for your support! -Kiba

As her plane touched down, Mercy took a deep breath. She had to prepare herself for the treatment. Just as the hatch opened, she found Dan waiting for her. "Dr. Ziegler," he exclaimed excitedly, hugging her tight. "It's so good to see you again."

"Erm...hello, Dan. You seem...cheerful?" she commented confused. "Where's Mei?"

"Recovering," he explained quickly. "I managed to cure her. The nanobots in her were forming crystals of dry ice in her lungs, so I used an EMP to knock them out of commission."

"You what?" she gasped. "Take me to her, now!"

"O-okay," he stammered. Knocking on the door of the lab, Dan smiled as he entered. "Hey, Mei. Dr. Ziegler is here to see how you're doing."

The dazed and still somewhat tired Mei smiled weakly to her. "Hello, Dr. Ziegler. It's good to see you again. You look just like you did five years ago."

"Thank you Mei," she replied. "You look pretty good yourself. I hope you don't mind if I give you a check-up."

"Sure. Dan's been pretty helpful in making me feel better."

Angela sat beside her, opening her pack, and retrieving a stethoscope. Placing the bell on her chest, she smiled to her reassuringly. "Take a deep breath for me, please."

She followed her instructions, her chest swelling outward before slowly returning back to its original position. Mercy would readjust and nod for her to repeat the process. Just as she'd confirmed, she could still hear her diaphragm struggling. "Is everything all right, Doctor?"

"Nothing too major," she promised. "Dan, may I speak to you outside please?"

"Yes, ma'am," he beamed proudly, smiling back at Mei before following her out. As the door closed behind them, the grin was still on his face. "Did I do well Dr. Ziegler?"

"What the hell were you thinking?!" she demanded, quickly wiping the expression from his face. "Are you out of your damned mind? You're lucky that she's still able to be breathe, much less alive!"

"But...but I…"

"Dan, you are not a doctor," she interrupted. "Do you understand how dangerous what you did was? Right now her lungs are filled with those nanobots and since you disabled them, now they're presently scarring them and causing them to bleed! If I hadn't come here, she'd probably be very sick within the day."

"She was coughing up blood and...and...they were making dry ice and she couldn't breathe…"

"I don't want to hear excuses, Dan! This is not a game!"

He appeared crestfallen as he looked down at his feet. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I was just trying to help."

"Your heart was in the right place, but that's not good enough, understand? You don't become a doctor by having a good heart, Dan. You have to study and practice for years before you start treating patients. And for the record, you should have contacted me the moment you found out she was alive in the cryopod! How did you revive her, anyway?"

"I f-followed the instructions in your journals. I did all the steps, I swear."

"You did?"

"Yes."

"No shortcuts at all?"

He hesitated for a moment, his gaze still locked on his feet. "Well...there was one thing…"

"Dan," she growled.

"Athena said the nanobots could adjust her body temperature so it would be faster if I used them instead of soaking her in the bath. I didn't want her to go into shock from the sudden temperature change, so I told her to use them to defrost her."

Mercy took a deep breath, struggling to control her temper. "Do you even understand the repercussions of what you've done? You're the reason the nanobots were producing the dry ice in the first place! Since you instructed them to heat up her body, they were removed from autopilot which means anyone could control them after that! And, for the record, the human body can only go into shock when exposed from heat to cold, not from cold to heat! Next time there is a medical emergency you contact me and if something needs to be done, I will tell you to do it! From now on, you do nothing without my say-so, do I make myself clear?!"

"Yes ma'am," he muttered, hanging his head in shame. "I'm really sorry, Doctor Ziegler. I just wanted to help. You were really busy and they said the surgery was super important. I just wanted to impress you."

"Dan, I am impressed by you. You're a bright kid and you have a lot of potential. But you're reaching outside of your limits and when you do that, people can be seriously hurt or worse. You have to work your way up in life. Do you think I or anyone else here were just flung into where we are? We had to work for it, just as you do."

"It just feels like everyone else is so far ahead of me. I want to be appreciated. I don't want to just be an assistant anymore."

"Start from the bottom," she instructed, placing her hands on his shoulders. "Work your way to the top. You may not believe it, but you are appreciated, by everyone. I can honestly say things around here wouldn't be the same without you. Now, I'm afraid I'm going to have to do a minor operation on Mei to get the nanobots out of her lungs. I'm going to need an assistant, but in order for you to be qualified, you'll have to do something to prove you can be trusted. Interested?"

With that, Dan's face lit up once more. "Anything," he promised. "Just tell me what I need to do."

"Apologize to Mei and explain everything that happened. Once you're done, we'll work from there, understood?"

"Yes, ma'am!" he swore, giving her a salute before rushing inside to get on with the task. Mercy sighed, cupping her cheek and watching her young pupil bounce up the steps enthusiastically.

"That was very kind of you, Doc," McCree commented from the shadows, causing her to frown. "I figured you'd have let the kid really have it."

"You don't consider that 'letting him have it'?"

He chuckled, tipping his hat slightly. "You're far too soft, Doc."

"What do you suggest then, Jesse? I suppose forcing him into a life of crime to toughen him up? After all, you turned out so well, didn't you?"

"You wound me, Doc."

"If I could watch over him regularly, I would. There's a reason I'm not a mother, Mr. McCree. I'm far too busy to raise a child."

A puff of smoke emerged from the gunslinger's mouth, as he turned to look at her. "Well, I've got nothin' better to do. What if I looked after the kid when you're gone. Truth be told, kid could use a man's influence."

Her eyes narrowed as she shot him a glare. "If you do, you'd better be warned. That kid is cared about by many dangerous people. If you hurt him…"

"Yeah, yeah. I got it. You'd probably make me wish I was never born or something like that." Dropping the cigar on the ground, he crushed the embers under his boot. "You ain't got nothin' to worry about, Doc. All I intend is teachin' him to shoot and teachin' him to slow down a bit. I trust you'll find that satisfactory?"

* * *

Knocking politely, Dan once more entered the room where Mei sat on her cot, jotting down another journal entry. "Mei, can you talk?"

She looked up with a smile. "Of course, Dan. I wouldn't be too great of a friend if I turned away the man who saved me twice." A pang of guilt lanced through his chest as he sat beside her, staring at the ground. Immediately, she picked up on the change of his mood. "Dan? What's wrong?"

"I...I'm really sorry, Mei," he whispered.

"Sorry?"

"It's all my fault," he explained. "I'm the reason you're sick. When you were frozen, I made a mistake bringing you out of it. I was supposed to let you defrost more slowly. Instead, I decided to use the nanobots, because I thought it'd be faster and safer. I didn't want to wait for Dr. Ziegler to come and revive you because I wanted to impress her and Winston and Tracer. But all I did was mess up, and because of that the nanobots went haywire and messed up your lungs."

She closed her journal setting it aside and crossing her legs beneath her. "But you fixed that mistake. So really, there's no harm, no foul, right? You saved me, again. Even if you did cause me to need to be saved, you did what you felt was right. I can't judge you for that."

"I didn't save you," he replied, still unable to meet her gaze. "I just delayed it is all. Now that the nanobots are out of commission, they're inside of your lungs and Mercy says they've cut up the inside of them. She said that unless she operates on you, you'll just be back to where you were in a day, maybe even worse."

Mei said nothing at first, trying to formulate a response. She didn't want to hurt her assistant's feelings, but at the same time, she didn't want to just let this go either. "How long do I have with the operation?"

"I'm not sure," he admitted. "She didn't say. Again, I should have waited for her, but instead, I had to prove myself to you and everyone else."

"You don't have to prove anything to me, Dan. I know that you're more than capable. I've seen it myself. You just need to slow down is all."

"Yes, I do," he replied. "I have to prove myself to you. I have to!"

"Why?"

His cheeks blazed a bright red. "Ever since I pulled you out of the ice...I knew...I knew I loved you," he explained.

Her eyes went wide. "L-love m-me?" she stammered in surprise. "Dan, we barely know each other. I mean, we've only known one another for two days. You can't honestly...I mean…" she was struggling to find words.

"Please, please, Mei. I need you to forgive me. I...I'll do anything to make this up to you, I swear. I just...I don't want to have to leave your side. Please."

Mei was at a loss for words as her heart rate began to increase drastically. She couldn't believe the words she was hearing from her young assistant. "Listen, Dan I think…" she paused for a moment before continuing. "I forgive you, Dan. But I think it's best if from now on, you remained Winston's assistant. I'm really sorry, but I don't love you. You're sweet, and you're kind, but...I don't really know you at all. I can't have you be around me if your feelings are going to hinder your work the way they clouded your judgment for my treatment. I'm sorry."

His heart broke in his chest as he just stared vacantly at the ground. He couldn't believe how much he was hurting. "I...I'm sorry...I can make it up to you, I can…" he tried, but Mei just shook her head.

"I'm sorry, Dan. I'm going to tell Winston in the morning to find me a new assistant," she interrupted, her mind made up. This wasn't something she took joy in. In fact, if she could have, she would have just forgotten his confession all together. But as it stood, she needed to distance him from herself. It was what was best, she felt, for both of them.

"Yes ma'am," he finally replied, "I understand." Standing up, he brushed past her to leave, and even then, she could still feel the pain from her words rolling from him. Even still, she steeled herself. As Dan hurried down the steps, McCree and Mercy both looked to him. "Good luck with your operation, Doctor," he said, trying hard to hide his tears.

Looking expectantly at the vigilante, she nodded her head after the kid, causing him to roll his eyes. "Fine, I'll go talk to the kid," he grumbled, moving from his position to go after Dan. Dan stood over his old workbench in Winston's lab, the ape currently dozing on an upper level in a gigantic tire.

McCree entered, searching for him and when he found him, he cleared his throat. "Hey, uh...kid," he began, unsure of how to put his foot forward. Walking up to him, he reached into his breast pocket and removed a flask, taking a swig before offering it to him. "Here. Put some damned hair on your chest."

Dan glared at him. "What do you want?"

"Look, if it were up to me, I'd just let you wallow in your bullshit, understand? But, I made a promise to the Doc, so here I am giving you some of my golden nectar. Now you gonna take a hit of this whiskey or not?" he snapped.

Reluctantly, Dan took the flask, taking a swig of it before wiping the his mouth with the back of his hand and handing it back. Calming down some, he pointed to the man's shoulder. "You want me to patch up that arm for you?"

"Would be nice," he admitted, sitting as Dan indicated. As the assistant began to tinker on the robotic arm, McCree watched him carefully. "So you're pretty gun shy, huh?"

"Yes," he answered, not wishing to make small talk.

"Understandable. Them guns are pretty lethal. Everyone's a bit nervous about a weapon that they can't always see comin'."

"What do you want?" Dan repeated.

"I told you. I made a promise to the Doc. She asked that I look after you."

"I don't need looked after. I'm not a child."

"Hell, I know that. You're already a full grown man, at least on the outside," he suddenly let out a hiss as Dan warningly brushed his skin with the hot iron. "Damn it, watch what you're doin'!"

Ignoring him, Dan continued his work. "It's not that I don't appreciate the sentiment, it's just that I wish they would see me as an equal, not as someone who has to be shadowed all the time."

"Trust comes with time, kid. Everyone knows that. You gotta be understandin' of them. Most of 'em been a team since before you even knew their names. In one way or another, they've all had to prove themselves to each other."

"Yeah, well...when I try to do that, all I manage is to fuck things up even more."

"How so?"

"I nearly killed Mei," he pointed out. "I managed to make her hate me because I jumped the gun and told her I had feelings for her."

"Yeah, after two days? That'd weird out anyone. Look kid, I can't promise I can get you back in her good graces, but I can say that I can teach you a thing or two about being a member of Overwatch."

"I've said it once, I'll say it again...to hell with Overwatch."

"Son I'd sooner buy a bridge than buy that you don't want anything to do with Overwatch."

"I don't."

"Really?"

"Yep."

"Then why are you still here?"

Dan fell silent and he knew he'd been had. He couldn't even lie correctly. After a few more moments, he removed the torch. "There. Your arms fixed. We finished here or do you want to waste even more of both of our time?"

"Boy, you are getting on the last of my nerves," Jesse growled, flexing his mechanical digits to ensure they were working correctly. "To answer your question, no we ain't done and no, you ain't gonna waste my time. I'm gonna teach you how to shoot and more importantly how to not be a belligerent fuck-up. I ain't gonna help you get the girl, that ship may have already sailed, but I'm going to teach you how not to let that shit happen again. Square?"

"If I say 'no'?"

"Well, then I've got strict order to escort you off these premises with a severe case of lead poisonin'," he lied. He could see in his eyes that Dan knew he was lying about the orders too, but he wasn't sure if that meant he wouldn't still do it. "Don't worry, I ain't startin' you on the Peacekeeper. That was just plain foolishness." Moving his arm, he seemed impressed. "Hot damn kid, you got some sort of talent. Feels better than it has in a long time."

"Yeah, whatever," Dan sighed, tossing his spanner on to the workbench and going to leave. He was sick of being told that. If he was so smart, then why did he continue to do things that were so stupid? Making his way to the replacement hammock he had set up in Winston's lab, he clambered into it and rolled over away from the world.

McCree let out a frustrated groan. This was going to be even more difficult than he thought it was. "Why the hell did I offer to do this again?" he asked himself out loud. Following him, he took off his hat, scratching his head. "Look, kid. You wanna impress your gal? The way you start is by cowboying up and not pouting like a child. If you can prove to me you got what it takes, I'll even start callin' you by your name."

"Fine," he replied, not moving an inch.

Knowing he wouldn't get any more out of him, the sharpshooter turned and left, stepping out into the night and lighting himself another cigar. Tracer came to stand beside him, eager to hear what he had to say. "Well?" she asked, urging information from him.

"Well, I got my work cut out for me," he replied before giving a nonchalant puff of smoke. "Is this kid always so hard-headed? I mean hell, he's whimperin' like a kicked dog in his bed. I ain't ever seen a grown-ass man act like this before, even at his worst."

"Dan's different," Tracer tried to explain. "To be honest, I couldn't tell you what's wrong with him. He's just not normal is all. He's intelligent, sure, but he's also very sensitive. We all pitch in to take care of him. In a way, I guess you could consider this your inauguration into the team."

"Yeah, well, I ended up gettin' the ape's stupid message," he replied, holding up his holo-phone. "Overwatch recall to action, huh? Figured I'd get in on whatever it was that's going down. Any word from others? To be frank, I'm shocked that the Doc deigned to come back."

"We've received word from a few operatives that intend to rejoin us. In particular, we have Phara, D. Va., and Reinhardt coming in. We've been trying to pinpoint this mysterious Soldier 76 everyone is going on about. Last I heard he was in Mexico somewhere. Other than that, most are just up in the air. We've got new enemies now. I've heard tell that the UN has some new program they're using from Australia to come after us. Add Talon into the mix and we have big problems on our hands."

A thought suddenly occured to McCree. "Wait a moment, are you tellin' me this entire time everyone has been treating Dan like he's a child? No wonder he's so messed up."

"Don't you think we've tried to treat him like an adult?" Tracer argued. "He just...it's like he doesn't know even simple stuff sometimes. Like that you can't fall in love with someone after only two days."

"Lots'a people believe in love at first sight. Guess you're not one of 'em."

"I'm just scared that someone will take advantage of him is all," she protested. "I'm like his big sister, I have to look after him."

"Uh-huh. Tell me darlin', what is he supposed to do when you're not around?"

"I...I don't know…" she admitted.

McCree smirked. "Yep. I reckoned that's what you'd say. Tell ya what. Give me a few days with Dan then send him somewhere on some sorta mission. You said you got a few new recruits comin' in. Have him be the liaison to check they're on the up and up. I bet if you made him feel important and less like a nuisance, he'll be whipped into shape."

"That's kind of like teaching a person to swim by throwing them into the ocean, isn't it?"

"Yeah well...you gotta take the floaties of some time, kid. For Dan, that time has been long overdue."

"Yeah. Maybe you're right. Besides, it'd be good for him to get some distance from Mei after this whole business. Mercy says it won't be too much trouble to reverse the damage Dan's done."

"Atta' girl. Don't worry Tracer, we'll make a man of him yet." With that, he tipped his hat politely before snuffing out his cigar, walking to return to the guest cots where he was assigned to bunk.

Tracer frowned, looking up at the stars. "Good luck, Dan."

* * *

A week later…

* * *

"Are you sure you have everything?" Tracer asked him, arms folded nervously across her chest.

"Yes mom, I'm fine," Dan retorted sarcastically. "It's fine Tracer. Don't forget, I traveled on my own until I bumped into you. This isn't exactly new for me. Besides, I'm really excited to meet the other new recruits like me. It'll be nice having someone under me for a change."

"Don't let that power go to your head," Winston lectured. "After last week's fiasco…"

"What he means is," Mercy quickly cut him off, "we're all going to miss you, Dan. We can't help but worry about one of our own."

He smiled weakly at the doctor before looking past her to see Mei inside of her lab. "Not everyone," he sighed.

"Remove it from your mind, kid. Remember what I told you at the range? Distractions are the enemy even more so than the opposin' guns. Keep your eye dead on the target, and wipe out all the other stuff."

"Yes, sir. I remember."

As the door to the plane closed, Dan sank back into the chair as the Omnec pilot looked over his shoulder curiously. "Going on a trip?" he asked in a robotic voice. It always puzzled Dan how cabbies could ask such dumb questions.

"Yeah," he answered. "South Korea."

"I love me South Korea. Them girls there, absolute beauties. I heard that over there, you can get yourself an oil change for pennies on the dollar. Can you believe that?"

"Nope," Dan replied nonchalantly. If the Omnec wanted to talk, he'd let him talk.

"This is a really important time down there, you know? Supposedly, the Meka squad is activating pretty soon. It'll be interesting to see them in action, even if it is against one of my brethren."

With a roar, the machine took to the skies as he occasionally muttered an affirmative to the incessant drivel coming from the pilot. Staring out over the clouds, all he could think about was his last week. He'd gotten in some training with McCree, and even he had to admit that shooting the much small calibre guns were not nearly as bad as he feared. Mei still hadn't spoken a word to him since she fired him from being her assistant.

Truth be told it wounded him deeply, more so than the original rejection. His mistake of confessing to her, he regarded, as being his worst. He'd rather have never been able to tell her that he loved her and still be able to spend time with her than this emptiness that he now felt.

He quickly shook the thoughts from his head. He had to remember McCree's lessons. No distractions! He had a job to do and it was one he intended to do to his fullest ability. Meet the new recruit, see what she could do, if approved, give her the official invitation to Gibraltar.

He was surprised that the country would agree to give up the captain of their self-defense Meka squad, but whatever the case was, Dan has no intention of screwing this up. He'd prove that he could work regardless of where his head was. They were counting on him and he refused to let them be disappointed in him again.

It took almost no time until the pilot alerted him that they would be landing soon. How long had he zoned out? With a thud, the wheels landed upon the ground, slowing to a halt and opening the door to allow Dan to slowly descend the steps, bag in hand.

Truthfully, he wasn't sure where to go from here. They told him he'd have someone waiting for him, but he prayed that they wouldn't seriously have someone waiting with a sign that read 'Overwatch Operative' on it.

Placing a hand over his eyes to protect himself from the glaring overhead fluorescent lights, he stood, the crowds surging around him. To be honest, he actually felt a little overwhelmed by it all, but he swallowed it down.

His eyes scanned the faces as people split with their loved ones, leaving the airport. Finally, his eyes rested upon her. A young girl, barely nineteen, holding a sign that read Dan McQueen. She seemed incredibly bored as a pink bubble inflated from her lips, popping and vanishing back between her teeth.

Making his way through the throng, he approached her, flashing her a soft and professional (he hoped) smile. "Hello," he greeted, causing her to look him up and down through her dark mirrored sunglasses.

Tugging the baseball cap she wore on her head a little further down, she waved silently for him to follow her. Not a very friendly person, he noted. He was surprised by how easily she moved through the surging mob, and he tried his best to keep up.

Every few feet, she'd pause to glance back to ensure he was behind her before continuing once more. When at last they reached the doors, she pointed to a limousine that waited patiently.

"Wow," he muttered. "I wasn't expecting such a red carpet welcome."

"It's not for you," she replied, the very first words she spoke. "This is how I always travel."

What? As she reached for the door, Dan did the same, grasping the handle and holding it open for her, causing her to look at him silently, judgingly even. "Sorry, force of habit," he explained, but still she just popped another bubble with her gum before slipping inside.

Following her inside, he was amazed by how spacious the interior was. Crossing one leg over another, she sighed, reaching up to her glasses and removing them from her face. Her eyes were a deep and dark chocolate brown, and meeting his, he was suddenly struck by a strange sensation. Just by removing the shades, she seemed like a completely different person. "Forgive me for the coldness," she replied, tugging off the hat and allowing luscious brown hair to cascade around her shoulders. "I can't risk being recognized in public or else we'd never have gotten out of there."

"R-recognized?" he stammered, suddenly intimidated by the girl's cuteness alone. "What do you mean?"

She blinked confused, tilting her head slightly. "You...don't recognize me?" she asked puzzled. "Oh! Umm…" she paused for a moment before clearing her throat. "GG!" she cried cutely, flashing a big smile and a peace sign.

"Oh! You're...umm...that gamer girl. I apologize, I'm awful with names...Hannah?"

"Hana," she corrected. "But most of my fans call me D. Va.."

Dan's eyes lit up in a mix of surprise and recognition. "Oh! You're D. Va.! I'm so sorry, I'm afraid they didn't tell me who I was here to meet. I was expecting someone more…" he words trailed off as she stared at him expectantly. "Militant."

A grin spread across her lips as she spread her arms to relax herself in the cushy leather seats. "Right, right. I get that a lot, too. Gamer gone captain of the Mobile Exo-force of the Korean Army? Not exactly a typical story, I suppose. I'll forgive you this time, I suppose. But you better not forget my name again or else I'll have to teach you a lesson." She wiggled her finger cutely.

"Consider it done," he assured her, smiling back. "If I may ask, how old are you? You seem really young for a military commander."

"Good eye," she giggled. "I'm nineteen, but don't think that makes me a push over. I know quite a bit about defending myself. But enough about me, tell me about yourself. I'm afraid I haven't been briefed on you or why you're here. They just told me it was important. Are you some sort of politician's kid or something?"

Dan opened his mouth to speak before realizing that if she wasn't told, it was probably for a reason. "Something like that," he answered. "Just know that I'm really just here to watch you." Realizing how that sounded he quickly tacked on, "But not in a creepy way."

She blew another bubble, the playful gleam in her eyes bringing to mind that of a cat prowling a mouse. "I don't mind," she teased. "I'm used to guys watching me."

"I didn't…" before he could attempt to remove his foot from his mouth, there was suddenly a boom sending the limo careening n a wild fish tail that sent D. Va. tumbling on top of him.

Being so close, he could smell the cherry gum that she was chewing, and as they came to a halt, she quickly detangled herself from him. "Stay here," she instructed, opening a panel on the side and withdrawing an energy pistol.

Reaching to the top of the zipper on the windbreaker she had on, she quickly cast it off, revealing a skintight jumpsuit. The air around them grew thick with the foul stench of sulfur. Just as she reached for the door handle, Dan leapt at her, tackling her to the ground. "Down!" he shouted, just as a powerful shotgun blast tore through the window.

"What the hell?!" she cried in surprise.

"Damn it, Talon found us," he growled, giving his briefcase a kick and catching the revolver that tumbled out. It wasn't nearly as powerful as the peacekeeper, but he found it much more stable than the lightweight energy pistols that Tracer had.

"Get off of me," she stated, her eyes narrowing.

"Sorry," he apologized, rolling off of her, leveling his barrel at the door. Just as the door was ripped open, he fired square at the skull-shaped mask, just before Reaper turned into a cloud of smoke. "Come on!" he urged, chasing after.

"W-wait! That's my line!" she protested, leaping from the cabin. Standing back to back, the two were shocked to find themselves surrounded by armed operatives. "Well, I hope you were ready for a show."

"I'll admit, I was expecting to at least check into my hotel room first," he replied.

"I can't believe this," she grumbled. "Babysitting some brat and already I have to go to work."

"Brat?" Dan protested, just as the soldiers began to fire. He quickly dove out of the way, fanning the hammer to rapidly put down three of them.

Firing wildly, D. Va. agilely dodged their gun fire, flipping this way and that as she put them down with surprising precision. It was amazing to watch, Dan had to admit, but right now he was a little more focused on the remaining forces.

Dashing for cover, bullets riddled the wall in his wake. Waiting for a break in fire, he quickly spun, firing again to take out another three. Crouching down, again, he popped open the chamber and used his quick loader to reload before snapping it shut.

Just as he did, a tracer round fired, narrowly missing his head as he looked up into the dark blue skin of Widowmaker. "You," she commented. "You owe me a new gun."

"You owe me a new pair of pants," he countered leveling his gun at her. As he began to fire, she easily dodged his shots, firing a grappling hook towards him and kicking him hard in the chest with its momentum.

Pinning him to the wall with her heel, she leveled the machine gun at his face. "Last words? Not that I care, just as a courtesy."

Grasping a handful of debris from the ground, he cast it upward into her eyes, knocking her leg away and moving to get behind her. Grabbing a venom mine from her belt, he shoved her forward hard. "Why the hell are you following me?!"

"Aww, is the poor baby scared?" she cooed, spinning to fire her assault rifle towards him. He quickly hit the deck, throwing the mine towards her face and engulfing her in the toxic purple gas.

"Terrified," he answered, firing his gun in retort and managing to put a bullet in her shoulder.

She began to cough in the gas, suffocating on her own weapon until the cover of her goggles descended to at least protect her eyes. "Damn it, you're an annoying little pest!" she snarled. Firing her grappling hook at him, she intended to pull him into the cloud with her where she'd have the upper hand, but he narrowly managed to dodge it.

Moving to the center, he found that D. Va. had just finished eliminating the other soldiers. "We have to get out of here," he called to her, as she examined the watch on her wrist, turning the border on its face.

"Securing an escape route now," she promised. "Where the hell were you?" Dan quickly shoved her out of the way as another sniper shot flew between them. As her eyes fell on the assassin she let out a huff. "Seriously? You were flirting in the middle of a fight?"

"Don't even," he protested, panting from exhaustion. He was running out of energy quickly. "We've got another one somewhere. Be careful. These are Talon's best."

"Astute observation," Reaper hissed behind him, shooting him point blank in the back with a shotgun that sent him forward to the ground. His clothes, torn, it revealed the small modified armor that Dan had been developing, but he knew it wouldn't last him for another shot. "You're slipping." Putting his boot on Dan's back, he rolled Dan over and prepared to fire into his face.

Dan's life began to flash before him, but somehow through his memories, he managed to see a large figure rocketing down from the sky. Just as it slammed down on top of Reaper, he was shocked to see the familiar feminine shape appear inside of its cockpit. "MEKA online," D. Va. commented into her radio. "You okay, Dan?" He let out a wounded groan in response. "Good enough for me," she commented, turning to fire a volley of machine gun fire at the assassin underfoot. Reaper disappeared in a cloud of smoke, reappearing behind her, but she quickly turned and opened fire again. "Back up! What is your ETA?"

"Coming in hot, ma'am! We'll be there in T-Minus 20 seconds."

Widowmaker lined up another shot at the gigantic mech, attempting to use her distraction against her. As sensors began to beep frantically, D. Va. pressed a series of buttons on the joysticks, reflecting back the fire off of her energy shields.

"Widowmaker, we're leaving," Reaper called from cover, turning to fire a few escaping shots from his shotgun.

"Roger," his partner replied, throwing a smoke mine towards the two fighters.

Seeing it, D. Va. quickly scooped Dan up by his shirt as large rockets roared to life on her back, sending them both up into the air and to safety. Setting him down on the roof, she quickly turned to leave. "Stay here!" she demanded, just as another four mechs came crashing down from the sky. Looking around, however, it seemed as if the hostiles had simply vanished. "Chen-chang! Where did they go?!"

Dan tried to point to the escaping duo, but with the concussive force that had ruptured through him, his body urged him to simply rest. As his eyes began to close, he cursed himself for not being strong enough to have helped more.

To be continued...


	6. Chapter 6

Enraptured in Ice Ch. 6

 **AN: Hey everyone, sorry it took so long to update this story. I've been both working on some of my other fanfiction and my original work. Presently, I'm seeking a literary agent to publish my middle grade novel: Warren High, which is a paranormal thriller story. I'm also working on its second book as well as the rewrite of my first novel Trinity Wars. Thanks for your patience and support. I'm glad you are all enjoying it. -Kiba**

Twiddling with her pen, Mei rested her chin on her arm. Staring at the writing utensil, she continued to lazily run her finger over the plastic as Tracer watched her utterly confounded. "Are you...okay?" she asked. "You didn't come to see Dan off."

"It's for the best," Mei recited. "He has feelings for me that I don't return. It'd only hurt him more if I was there." She wasn't even sure she believed that, but even still she repeated it like a mantra to convince herself that what she was doing was the right thing.

"Really?"

"Yep."

Tracer sat across from her, perching her chin in her hands. Mei looked up, though her head remained where it rested. "I can't believe I'm asking this question," Tracer sighed. "It's so dumb. Are you _sure_ you're okay with all of this? It's just...for an entire week, you've been avoiding Dan like he's some sort of plague. I can understand he was a little forward…"

"A little," she agreed.

"But, I didn't expect it to bother you so greatly either. I mean, I can't speak for you, obviously, just that, I assumed you'd have simply told him 'no', and then went on like nothing happened. That's what I'd have done anyway."

"I don't think that's a good idea. It'd hurt too much."

"For him or for you?" Tracer challenged, causing Mei to once more lower her eyes to her pen. "Mei, if you like him, you know that's perfectly…"

The glare that the climatologist sent her, made her fall silent almost immediately. It was obvious she was uncomfortable having the conversation. "Any word from Winston on my new lab assistant?" she asked.

"Not yet," the younger one answered. "We've been incredibly busy lately. Reports have been flooding in from all over the world about people who are involved in vigilante justice. We have to investigate all of them if we want to ensure that Overwatch is back in top shape." Mei said nothing in response. "Mei, can I say something...just as a friend?"

"Sure," she finally surrendered.

"Call him. I know things have been awkward, and I know you think you're helping. But he really would love to hear from you. Regardless of what you think, he'd prefer to hear from you platonically than to never hear from you again."

She frowned, pondering Tracer's words. It was true, she did miss him greatly. Even if they'd only known one another for a short time, they _had_ grown close. It wasn't so much that she was upset about his confession as much as it had simply caught her off-guard. "I can't."

"Sure you can. Really, I know what you're thinking but…"

"Tracer, I don't mean to be rude, but if you could please stay out of this, I'd really appreciate it. This isn't really any of your business."

Tracer's brow furrowed in frustration as she quickly stood up. "Fine. If you want to wallow in your own loneliness because you're willing to cast out the person who respected you most, then you're right, I suppose that isn't any of my business."

"Thank you for understanding," Mei blithely retorted.

The other let out a disgusted grunt before going to leave. "You know, he really did look up to you. Love or not, whatever, but it doesn't change the fact that he respected you and right now it seems the only person you're protecting this way is...well, obviously everyone's hurting, so I guess you're not really protecting anyone."

The pen clattered to the desk as she left, causing Mei to bury her face in her arms. She knew that Tracer was right, but she couldn't bring herself to contact him. She didn't even know what she'd say to him if she did call him. With a sigh of defeat, she reached for her phone. She'd spend another hour or two staring at its screen before she made her decision.

* * *

Multiple images of beautiful women danced through Dan's vision as he looked up from the strange place he was. Someone was on top of him, though who, he wasn't sure. Was this heaven? Maybe he'd died during the attack and was now surrounded by angels. That'd be nice.

"Hello?" a lovely voice called to him. "Are you okay, Dan?"

"Are you an angel?" he wheezed, the fractured images beginning to form together into the smiling young woman he'd met. A smirk was on her lips and he soon realized with a frustrated and embarrassed groan that it was in fact D. Va.

"Yours? Definitely," she replied.

"Hey Hana," he whined, going to stand, but with little effort, her hands went to his shoulders, pinning his body down on the bed. To his surprise, she was straddling his waist, smiling down on him. "Where am I?"

"Medic bay. Doctors said you'll make a full recovery thanks to that crazy armor you were wearing. They couldn't figure out how to get it off though."

Silently, Dan reached to his shoulder, pressing his thumb on the flat black pad. With a confirmed beep to recognize his print, it let out a hiss and folded inward, collapsing on itself until it was folded up snugly in his back pocket.

Her eyes sparkled in amazement as she leaned closer to him to try to get it for inspection. "I have to say, you sure know how to handle yourself for some political brat. Your parents must be some sort of military to have taught you so well," she commented, her face uncomfortably close to his.

"Hard to believe it's only my first week shooting a gun," he answered, squirming under her. He turned a bright red as she pulled back with the small metallic square the size of a wallet. "Why are you sitting on me?"

"The doctors said you're not allowed to get up until you're well rested. I'm just making sure you stay where you are," she replied as if her behavior was completely normal. She marveled at the small device, running her fingers over it before smirking. "Besides, don't pretend this isn't a dream come true for you. Most guys would kill to be in this position." She had a point, Dan mused. "Anyway, so what are you really doing here? If you were just some escort mission, you wouldn't be able to defend yourself as well as you did."

"Like I said, I'm here to observe you. That's all."

Her smirk turned into a frown. It seemed that wasn't the answer she was hoping for. Tossing him back his armor, she clambered off of him. "Fine. Don't tell me. I'll find out soon enough anyway. One way or another, I always do."

Suddenly the door bursted open, revealing a well-groomed military figure that slipped inside, bowing politely first to Hana, then to Dan. "Jal jinae?" he asked.

"He want's to know how you're feeling," D. Va. explained.

"Can you tell him I'm feeling a little better?"

Once she translated, the man nodded his head. "Yeogi Overwatch ui daepyo ga yeong-gwang ida. wa jusyeoseo jeongmal gamsahabnida."

"You're a member of Overwatch?" she gasped in surprise.

Dan scratched the back of his head nervously. "I guess the cat's out of the bag now," he chuckled nervously. "Yes, I'm from Overwatch. But in my defense, I wasn't lying. My job is to observe you and report back."

"I see." Turning back to the man, she spoke in rapid-fire Korean. He responded back excitedly, causing Dan to look between the two of them in confusion.

"What's going on?"

"Nothing," she lied, "he's just really happy that you're here and safe."

"Thanks to you. Reaper was about to blow my face off."

"All in a day's work for a hero," she teased as the man left the room quickly. Dan watched after him just as his phone began to beep rapidly. "What's that?"

"Oh, Winston promised he'd send me a translation software once it was finished so now you don't have to keep translating for me," he replied. She smiled sweetly, but somehow he felt that it was less than genuine.

"I really don't mind," she promised. "Besides, you know how those translators are. They're not always reliable."

"Nah, Winston's a genius. He even included a translator for idioms and slang. He's typically on the ball with these sorts of things. Try it," he urged, holding the phone up to her.

"Yeot-meog-eo."

Glancing at the screen, Dan's eyes went wide. "Wow...you didn't hold back on that, did you?"

"What? I was just suggesting we get some yeot."

"Some what?"

"It's a type of candy," she giggled. "I guess this is your first time coming to Korea. Well, no worries, I'll be your guide. Are you up for some sight-seeing? I know some really cool places!"

"I don't know, I'm supposed to be on official business. I don't think they'd be too happy about me treating this like a vacation," he murmured.

She took his hand pulling him from the bed to follow her towards the door. "Oh come on, you'll be fine! All work and no play...right?" She looked at him her sparkling eyes, almost puppy like in innocence. "Pleeeeease? I don't get to go out very often. It'll be nice to relax."

"What happened to staying put?" he asked, though he did little to resist her tugging.

"You look well rested to me."

"Fine," he surrendered, "I doubt they'll mind if I take one day for myself."

Her arm wrapped tightly around his, gripping it fiercely as she escorted him down to the hospital's entrance. "Ooh! I know this great arcade. It's fantastic!"

"I thought you wanted to get candy."

"Later, obviously! Sheesh, try to keep up."

No sooner had the two of them taken a step outside that Dan found himself blinded by camera flashes, causing him to have to shield his eyes. "D. Va!" the reporters cried, crowding around the two. "Nuguseyo?"

"Igeos-eun naui sae namja chingu ibnida. Geuneun syupeo gwiyeoun aningayo?"

Immediately, they all began talking at once, shoving their microphones in his face, all talking rapidly as he looked at them in great confusion. "Wh-what did you say?"

"I told them you were a friend of mine," she whispered in his ear. "They just want to know more about you and what you think of Korea. I'm sorry if you're camera shy. This happens to me a lot. I figured it'd be best if I didn't mention Overwatch."

* * *

Mei's eyes went wide as she watched the television broadcast from Korea. She'd only been flipping through the channels when the world news reported that the world celebrity Hana Song has been caught outside of a hospital for an interview. What shocked her, however, was that there on the screen was Dan, standing there nervously, pressed against her and with her arm wrapped tightly around his.

She'd only ever seen him that flustered once: when he'd made his startling confession. "Nuguseyo?" the reporter asked, subtitles appearing to translate his question. _Who is this?_

Her response made Mei's blood run completely cold. _This is my boyfriend. Isn't he super cute?_ What in the hell was going on?! Standing quickly, she leaned closer to the TV, her eyes unable to leave the images on the screen.

 _How is it dating an amazing star? Have you been enjoying Korea?_

After whispering with her for a moment, he smiled to the reporters and waved slightly. "It's been great. I'm really excited to be here with Hana. She's going to take me sightseeing later. I'm sure it'll be plenty of fun."

"Boyfriend?" Mei asked stupefied. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. He'd only been gone a day. Did he really fall _that_ quickly? _Of course he does,_ she thought. _Think of how quickly he fell for me._ "No, no. This isn't any of my business," she quickly argued with herself, turning from the broadcast to return to her work on the climate machine.

 _How long have you been dating?_ She whispered something into his ear again, causing him to smile.

"Ah, it's been a few months. I mean, I'd heard of her a long time before then, obviously, but it wasn't until a few months ago that I'd started really looking into her on a personal level."

"Great," Mei sighed, "so he's a stalker, too. Wait...if he's been dating her for months then…" A chill ran down her spine. No, Dan wasn't the sort of person to cheat like that was he? That didn't make any sense at all. He seemed so kind and genuine, if a little lacking in social graces. Besides, if that was the case, she was certain Tracer or someone else would have mentioned it earlier.

As the interview continued in the background, she glanced down at the phone on her table. Well, the interview was live...she could just call him and clear this whole thing up, but then at the same time she'd be talking to him, and that'd mean not giving him space.

After another few moments of debating, she picked it up, punching in his number and waiting for the call to connect. Sure enough, Dan glanced down at his pocket in surprise, reaching in and pulling it out to look at the screen.

For a moment, there was a gleam of recognition in his eye. His finger hovered over the answer button, but with a nuzzle from the young gamer, he stopped, pushing the ignore and tucking it back into his pocket.

"He...he ignored it," Mei whispered in disbelief. "He ignored my call." Churning feelings of annoyance, anger, and confusion flooded her mind, but still, she took a deep breath, setting down her phone and turning off the TV.

Collapsing into her chair, she tried hard to calm herself before laying her head down on her desk with a sigh. She didn't know why she was hurting so badly, but she just wished that it'd hurry up and stop.

* * *

"Wow, I guess you really are famous," Dan noted as the two of them managed to squeeze past the reporters. "I'm not used to getting so much attention, even back at Gibraltar."

"What do you mean?"

"Ah, well...I'm not technically an Overwatch agent," he explained. "Actually, I'm more like an assistant to the team. When one of them needs something or wants an extra pair of hands, they call me."

"Then, why did they send you here?" D. Va. asked, a tinge of irritation in her voice.

Obliviously, Dan continued. "There was an incident about a week ago. I fell in love with a girl and I did some stupid stuff trying to save her life. So, I guess you could say this is half punishment and half distancing myself."

Once again, the sly grin came to Hana's lips as she pressed closer to him. "So, was that who was calling you on your phone?" she asked wryly. "Do you think she'd be jealous that you have such a cute girl on your arm?"

"Jealous? N-no. I doubt that. She umm...she didn't return the feelings for me. I'm trying hard to get over my own, so that's why I'm really grateful to be here. As for her calling me, I'm sure it was just a pocket dial. She hasn't spoken a word to me since I confessed to her."

"Well, if it's any consolation, I think you'd make a wonderful boyfriend. I even told those reporters so."

"You told them _what_?!"

Hana just giggled, leaning up and kissing his cheek playfully. "Don't worry about it," she assured him. "Really, I don't mind."

"That's not…"

"What? Am I not cute enough to be you girlfriend or something?" she demanded hotly.

"No! I mean, you're plenty cute, this is just sudden and...surprising. I figured you'd have guys demanding your attention every second of every day. You can't seriously be telling me that you don't have a boyfriend already."

She simply shrugged, "Maybe I'm just attracted to the desperate loser type." Noting Dan's expression, she just giggled. "I'm teasing you. Look I'm not asking for true love or anything, but I think it'd be nice for us to date while you're here. You'll be staying for a few weeks, right?"

"Yeah, but I mean...we're kind of supposed to be coworkers, and I'm observing you. I mean, won't this seem kind of corrupt?"

"Corrupt? Of course not! I mean, your mission is to observe me, so what better way to observe me than up close, hmm?" she asked, leaning closer to stare deep into his eyes. "Now stop complaining. Do you want to be my boyfriend or not?"

Dan couldn't believe how forward and confidant the girl was. She was incredibly attractive he had to admit, but...what about Mei? Somewhere, he could feel, he still cared about her deeply. But if she'd never feel the same way, then what difference did it make one way or another? "I…" he began, struggling to speak.

"Fine, Mr. Indecisive. I'll pick for you. You're my boyfriend now."

"Wait, you can't just…"

"Well you didn't say 'No', so I'm going to assume the answer is a 'Yes'. No need to be so complicated. I promise, it'll be great." Grabbing him by the hand, she began to drag him through the crowded streets as onlookers turned to watch in awe. "So where should we go for our first date, Dan? I was thinking the Mall, or maybe the arcade."

"Shouldn't we be laying low? I mean, Talon just waged an all out assault on us!"

"I have MEKA on call, so no worries," she assured him, refusing to cease. "Now will you quit your complaining? Sheesh, I figured a representative from Overwatch would be a bit more gentlemanly."

Resigning to his fate, Dan let out a sigh, finally stopping his struggles and protests. She had a point. There wasn't really any good reason he had to not be her "boyfriend". He took a moment to briefly stare at his phone. Maybe he should ask Tracer what she thought, but again the bitter memories of her chastising returned and he quickly shoved it back into his pocket. At the very least, he could proudly say he was able to fire back in a gun fight, even if he was only using stun bullets.

The sudden revelation surprised him. "Oh! That reminds me. What happened to the Talon operatives when you took me to the hospital? I'm sure Overwatch would like to interrogate them."

Hana snickered, "I think it's a little difficult to interrogate people with holes in their skulls. Great shooting by the way."

"What? No, I was using stun bullets. I didn't kill anyone."

She looked at him in surprise. "Stun bullets? I'm sorry to tell you, but that's not a thing."

"Sure it is. My mentor is the one who gave them to me. He told me that if I shot someone with them, they'd be knocked out for a few hours."

"Do these 'stun bullets' tend to cause their heads to turn into a fine red mist? Because if not, then I'm afraid he lied to you. I saw the bodies myself. They were dead."

Crushing despair seemed to fall onto his shoulders as his mouth suddenly felt very dry. "Oh Gods...I...no, no," he murmured incoherently. "That can't be right! It can't! Maybe those were your kills. I mean, I know I was shooting stun bullets but surely, you weren't…"

"What's the big deal? So you blasted away some baddies. That's a good thing," she retorted, walking further ahead before realizing that he'd stopped following her. When she turned back, his eyes were full of tears as he stared at the ground in shock, his entire body trembling. "Leave it to me to get the wimpy ones," she mumbled under her breath.

* * *

During the previous week…

* * *

"Alright kid, listen up. You and I are going to be doing some training. Your job, whether you like to admit it or not, is going to lead to some hairy situations and regardless of feelings or fears you're gonna have to sometimes fight your way out of said tough spots."

"This is still ridiculous. I really don't understand the point of it all."

McCree moved to Dan's side and slapped him over the back of the head. "If you'd shut yer trap and listen, you'd have heard me explain it. Now look, this here, is a gun." Pulling out Peacekeeper, he placed it in front of the assistant with a thud.

Immediately, Dan recoiled from it. "Yeah, I know what a gun is...I just don't want anything to do with it."

"Well, tough shit. Pick it up."

"I don't want to,"

"Boy, you'll pick it up or else I'll pick it up and trust me, you want the first option not the second."

Dan sighed. He doubted that Jesse would actually shoot him, but even still he'd promised he'd go through with this, if not for his own sake then to make up for his mistakes when treating Mei. Reluctantly, his hand once again found its way on to the cold steel butt of the pistol. Lifting up the heavy device, he turned to show his teacher who quickly placed his hand on the barrel and shoved it away from him.

"Rule one: don't point the damned thing at me. When we're here, you keep that thing on safety, down range, or both. Got it?"

"Yes, sir," he groaned sarcastically, earning him another slap to the head.

"Get a good feel for the gun. It's heavy, right? Believe it or not, that's a good thing."

"Yeah, I can only imagine…"

"Drop that tone, kid. This is not a battle you will win."

He took a deep breath and nodded. "I'm sorry, Jesse. I'm just not able to put my heart into it."

The cowboy readjusted his hat on his head. "Yeah, I know kid. Look, it ain't hard to see when a man's down. You look like some puppy that's just been kicked."

Wanting to drop the conversation, Dan quickly changed the subject. "So why is a heavier gun a better thing? Other than putting bigger holes in people, obviously."

"A heavy gun is a stable gun. When it comes to gauging recoil, the two core factors that come into play are weight and caliber. Weight's obvious. Caliber is talking 'bout the size of the bullet you're shootin'. Problem is, Peacekeeper here fires a .45 caliber impact plasma round. A bullet that big is gonna kick like a mule, as you've already learned."

"Yeah, I remember. I thought you said it was stupid to start on the Peacekeeper."

"I did. That's why you ain't. You're gonna be starting on the gun my daddy had me start with."

Opening the case, he offered it to Dan. When Dan lifted it, he could immediately feel a difference between the two guns. "This," McCree explained, "is a .357 Ruger Vaquero. Back in the good ol' days, this was a pistol that was used by all sorts of competitors in quick draw events and such."

"Three hundred and fifty seven? Isn't that bigger than forty five?"

"Caliber is measured as a decimal. Come on boy, keep up."

"Sorry."

"Now a .357 Magnum bullet has the nickname 'Manstopper'. That's because it has a reputation for putting its victims out of commission, dead or otherwise."

"Look, guns or otherwise, I don't want to kill anyone. If you ask me to, the answer will always be no. I'm sorry."

"What you do with what I teach you is up to you kid, but I'm not going to have you sayin' that I let you off easy. From now on, this baby is yours," he stated, placing the gun carefully in Dan's hand. "All you have to do is give it a name."

* * *

Once she'd managed to pick herself up again, Mei slowly crept from her lab. No matter how she cut it, she couldn't come up with a valid reason Dan would have just ignored her call like that. He didn't exactly look hurt on the interview, but he also didn't seem as affectionate towards Hana as he was towards herself when they worked together.

Sneaking to Winston's laboratory, she peered inside to see that Tracer was indeed there, messing around with one of the many items that was on Dan's desk. "Psst, Tracer!" Mei hissed to her.

"Mei?" she asked, setting the knick knack back where it belonged. "What's with the secrecy?"

"Shhh! Keep your voice down," she urged her, turning to leave before gesturing for her to follow. Puzzled, the British agent complied, trailing her footsteps until they were back in her lab. "I wanted you to see something," she explained.

Seeing the image of Dan's face on the screen with D. Va. snuggled up next to him, Tracer looked to her friend with a sigh. "Oh Mei…"

"Look! She says he's her boyfriend and then he says they've been together for a few months!" she continued, pressing play on the recording. Before it could go further, Tracer paused the recording. "Why did you pause it? Did you see something else?"

"Mei, you told me to stay out of this, remember?"

"Yes, but Dan…!"

"Dan is an adult," Tracer interrupted. "I know he doesn't act like it sometimes, but he is. That means he's allowed to make his own choices. Did you call him?"

"Yes...but he ignored my call," she confessed.

"Well, you know what they say: karma's a bitch." Mei bit her lip as she opened her mouth to speak again, before thinking better of it and electing to remain silent.

"I'm sorry that I was rude before," she finally whispered. "I shouldn't have pushed you away when you were trying to help. Please, I need you to help me with this."

The combination of Mei's apology with the absolutely heart-wrenching expression on her face sent a pang of guilt through the pilot. "All right," she surrendered, her typical smile returning to her face, "what seems to be the problem, love?"

Pointing to the screen, the climatologist resumed the recording she'd taken. "Look. Here, the reporter asks who Dan is, and she says he's her girlfriend."

"Jealous, are we?" Tracer teased. "Okay, so perhaps he's fallen out of love with you, and now he's head over heels for this girl. Working on the assumption that you're not secretly into our Dan, what's the problem?"

"At first, that was my thought too, but then look...she whispers in his ear the next time the reporter asks a question, and Dan replies in English. But, don't his answers seem strange to you? He says that the two of them have been together for almost a month now. Did you know about this?"

Tracer was absolutely floored by Dan's 'confession' on World TV. "It's a cover?" she tried, hoping it would help explain the matter. "Okay, so I've absolutely no idea why he'd say that. I can tell you, without a shadow of a doubt, that Dan is most certainly not her boyfriend."

"How can you tell that?"

"Look at the way her body is angled compared to his. It's clear she's latching on to him, but he's sagging the opposite direction to compensate, rather than towards her like an affectionate couple. Now, if you also look at the pupil dilation…"

"Dan asked you for dating advice when he first melted me, didn't he?"

"Yes. Yes, he did," Tracer grinned broadly. "But that other stuff sounded pretty good too, didn't it? All scientific and what not. Dan would be proud." Mei couldn't help but giggle and nod her head in agreement. "Ah, there we are! 'Bout time I got you to smile again, love. So what's the plan? She doesn't look too big, I'm sure we can find ourselves an inconspicuous hole and a shovel."

"I...was hoping you'd have a plan," Mei replied. "I know I'm not supposed to be sticking my nose in Dan's business, but I was worried about him. Now that you know though, I'm just going to sit this one out."

"Oh, no you don't," her friend argued. "You can't come get me to see some thirty second news clip that has you in a tizzy after you've watched it who knows how many times then back out to avoid talking to Dan. My plan is we get you to call him and you can ask him yourself what's going on."

"But, I tried that," she said meekly. "He ignored my call."

"Then we call from my phone. Since Winston officially put me as the handler on Dan's case…"

"Winston made you Dan's handler?" Mei asked in shock. "But then why did you say it wasn't your problem?"

"I was being a bitch, love. Try to keep up. Anyway, I'll call Dan and since he _has_ to pick up for me, we put him on speaker and talk to him together."

"O-okay. Can you ask him about Hana, though? I don't want it to seem awkward."

"Sure thing, love." Pulling out her phone and placing it on the table between them, Tracer pressed a few buttons and soon a dial tone began to ring.

"Hello?" Dan's voice sounded crestfallen, almost as if he were in a daze.

"Hello, Dan! Why so glum?" Tracer asked.

"S-something happened...on the way to the hotel...it wasn't great," he grumbled. "Talon attacked our limo."

"Oh my God, are you okay?" Mei quickly jumped in before the other could respond.

Dan was absolutely silent for a moment. "Mei?" he asked calmly.

She froze, her cheeks red and eyes wide at the shock of how quickly she rushed into the conversation. "Yes, love. That would be Mei. I wanted to surprise you, but she jumped the gun. Surprised?"

"So, you really were trying to call me?" Dan asked. "I'm sorry...I just assumed you'd pocket dialed me or something, so I ignored it. I thought you didn't want to talk to me."

"Of course, I wanted to Dan," Mei blurted before covering her mouth. "I mean...ummm, Tracer has a question for you." Every word out of her mouth slowly became softer as her blushing grew even more intense than before.

The pilot flashed her a thumbs down, before speaking up again, "Erm, yeah. Mei and I saw the news bulletin from Korea. Seems you have yourself a new girlfriend, hmm?"

Mei held her breath, waiting for his response. However, when a more feminine voice spoke up her heart nearly cleaved in two. "Who's this, Dan? Are these your friends from Overwatch? Hello, agents!"

"Tracer, Mei, this is Hana. Hana, these are two of Overwatch's operatives."

"Hello, Hana," Tracer cheerfully greeted her. "How is the situation in Korea going? I trust our envoy is treating you well."

The young girl gave a playful giggle. "Oh yes, he's treating me _very_ well," she replied. "Dan's my boyfriend now, if he hasn't told you yet. Sorry Mei, this is what happens when you don't catch one of the good ones fast enough."

"Could you please put Dan back on?" Tracer requested as Mei simply stood there in shock.

"Hey, I'm here. So y-yeah, I'm dating Hana now...I hope that's okay, Tracer. I'm not entirely sure on what Overwatch policy is about fraternization."

Mei slowly began to back away from the table, before turning to rush outside of the room. "You know Dan, I'm going to have to check on that for you. Talk later, hugs and kisses, bye!" Hanging up, Tracer quickly ran after her. With a zip, she managed to catch up to Mei who had collapsed to her hands and knees outside of the lab. "Mei, are you going to be okay?" she asked.

"She's right," she sobbed, shutting her eyes tightly. "I...I shouldn't have pushed Dan away." She began to choke on her tears as Tracer wrapped an arm around her, helping her to stand up.

"There, there. Here we go," she comforted, guiding her to a place they could sit overlooking the bay. "Just keep breathing, for us. 'Atta girl."

"Why is this happening?" Mei quavered. "My chest hurts."

"That's called heartbreak," Tracer replied calmly, "and it's okay, I don't think…"

"Why are you so intent on getting me to fall in love with Dan?!" she suddenly snapped, causing the pilot to flinch. "I know he's your close friend, but all that's going to happen is…" her words cut off as she began to gasp, her hand resting on her chest.

"Mei?" Tracer asked, as her eyes began to flutter. The climatologist collapsed out on the ground. "Mei!" Lifting her in her arms, Tracer began to slowly stumble back towards the lab. "Athena, page Doctor Ziegler! We need help, quick!"

Mercy rushed out of Winston's lab, Valkyrie suit already donned and Caduceus Staff in hand as she jetted towards them. "What happened, who's injured?!" she asked frantically before seeing Mei in her arms.

"Mei passed out, she was really upset and she complained that her chest was hurting before she collapsed. Will she be okay, Doctor?"

"I don't know, Tracer. Hurry up and bring her to the Med bay. I'll have to do some scans and examine her there. For now, this'll help stabilize her," she explained, allowing the healing energy from the rod to flow over her. "This just helps to undo any physical damage, but we still need to see what's causing it, if it _is_ being caused."

Placing her limp body on the examination table, Mercy affixed her staff into a holster to keep the beam active and concentrated. She began setting up an IV and activating the necessary monitors which showed that Mei's heart rate was still very high.

"Tracer, cut off her shirt and bra please."

"Yes, Doctor."

"Athena, I need you to perform an ultrasound on her heart please."

"Live ultrasound is on the screen, Doctor Ziegler."

Her eyes scanned the rapidly shifting image, searching for anything that was amiss. Her heart appeared to be swelling normally, albeit a little more than usual. If what Tracer said was true, it was likely that Mei had a panic attack, but something in the back of her mind told her that there was more to it.

Reaching up, she deactivated her staff, keeping her eyes on the screen. Sure enough, her heart rate instantly skyrocketed even further, showing that the blood wasn't able to leave the heart. "Subject is in tachycardia, cause unknown. Staff shows to be effective in lowering her heart rate to a safe amount, though still faster than resting. Present BPM: 213." Flipping the staff on again, she sighed. "Athena, please pull up a 3D image of Mei's heart."

"Yes, Doctor."

As the hologram appeared, she examined it closely, looking for any signs of distress. Well it _seemed_ healthy. The pericardium, the sack that surrounded her heart, was completely intact, and showed no signs of damage. "Athena, please show me the image from last week's scan," she requested. "Place it as comparison, please."

"Yes, Doctor."

"Is she going to be all right, Mercy?" Tracer asked, her hand gently resting on Mei's.

"Only time will tell, Tracer. Please remain quiet so that I can concentrate," she politely answered. As the hologram appeared, it looked completely identical to the other image. Leaning closer, Mercy frowned, looking back and forth between the two over and over. "Athena, zoom and enhance on the pericardium, please and hit the lights."

With a click, the room was cast in darkness, with only the faint illumination of the monitors and holograms to light it. Just as she suspected, last week's scan showed that her heart wall was a lighter color.

"Zoom to 1600x magnification please and bring it into focus."

With a blink the holograms vanished before reappearing once again, and it made Mercy's skin crawl. "Doctor Ziegler, what are those things?!" Tracer gasped.

"Nanobots," she murmured. "They're nanobots."

"But I thought that Dan knocked all the nanobots out of commission with his EMP. Not to mention that you removed them from her lungs. There shouldn't be any more left."

"Lights." As they flourescent bulbs reactivated, Mercy turned to look at Tracer. "The heart, Tracer, has a very complex electrical system inside of it. This is why sometimes electric shock can cause irregular heartbeats. If I were to guess, I'd say that the nanobots that were harming her before had a fail safe attached to her heart, behind the pericardium in order to prevent anyone from tampering with the researchers in an attempt to over freeze them."

"Over freeze? Doctor, they're encased in solid ice. What's more 'over freeze' than that?"

"The nanobots were spread through her entire body to keep her inner organs functioning and healthy until she could be revived. The fastest way through the body is the blood. If you freeze the blood, nanobots can't travel, and the subject dies. So, should things become too cold for the present amount of nanobots, maybe there's a producer attached to an electrical synapse in her heart to replicate them as needed. This one didn't get the memo that she doesn't need them anymore, so it's just replicating them over and over and over. It's flooded her pericardium with them and now her heart has swollen. Add to that, Dan's EMP may have also triggered it to return some of the electrical energy it needed and you have her elevated heart rate. Whatever triggered her panic attack sent her heart and the producer into overdrive, so now it's just forcibly accelerating her heart."

"What can we do?" Tracer asked. "Surely there's some way to save her."

"I could extract the extra nanobots and the producer, but I'm willing to bet that thing has some sort of anchor to keep it there should she be jostled around too much. If we want it gone without ripping a hole in her heart, we're going to need a tech guy."

"Like Winston?"

"No, to disable the anchor, we're going to be using a drone that is very sensitive to controls. We need someone who's cooler under pressure and has smaller fingers."

In an instant, Tracer had her phone out and pressed to her ear. "Hello?"

"Dan, get on the first available plane to Gibraltar. You're needed here."

To be continued...


	7. Chapter 7

Enraptured in Ice Ch. 7

 **AN: Hey everyone, I wanted to take a moment to respond to one of the reviews I received on the story yesterday. Crispin van Damn left a very nice and well-detailed review raising some issues and giving some praises. Normally, I'd do these responses in private messages, but he's a lurker so this will have to do. Thank you so much for your feedback, Crispin. You've actually helped me to see a few patterns in my writing that even I hadn't noticed. The thing you need to know about me is that I'm overly critical of my own work. When I first started writing ABAHF, I didn't want Kal to seem like the Mary Sue typical character, so my first reaction was to show off his flaws. This kind of backfired in that it made him seem to have very few positive features. But, moving on to Dan. While I didn't intend on officially stating it in the story, it's imperative to know that Dan is not just bad at social cues, he has Asperger's Syndrome (a subset of Autism). As some may know (from reading Manifesto or talking to me), it's something that I myself struggle with, and actually I work at a school for kids who have social troubles and sometimes ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder). The thing is that very often Asperger's goes undiagnosed because from the outside, you can't always tell. They'll be strange or do weird things (think Sheldon from Big Bang Theory), and you can tell the logic is there, but at the same time they still have trouble. The reason I'm explaining this is because I don't think that I correctly captured his complete social dysfunction as well as I'd hoped. To put it frankly, he doesn't understand** _ **why**_ **his confession weirded Mei out, regardless of the fact that most people would realize it was far too soon to be throwing out heavy words like 'love'. Now I'm not going to go into any major spoilers for the story, because I'm sure I'd get a crap ton of hate mail for that, but let's just say that Talon has a plan and Dan is just unlucky. Ending that there. Anyway, a typical trait of someone with Asperger's is that they struggle with labeling and explaining their own emotions. This can be frustrating which is why sometimes you'll see a child with Autism have what we call a 'meltdown'. Dan's case is a bit more mild, so his 'meltdowns' come out in a different way. Rather than a violent explosion at a slight provocation, he keeps it in and it builds up into things like depression, self-doubt, general bitter resentment, etc. The reason why you see everyone, so to speak, shitting on Dan isn't because they're just being assholes to him. The ones who actually know him (i.e. Tracer, Mercy, Winston) know that he has a propensity of not thinking through the ramifications of his actions. For example, him reviving Mei instead of just waiting for Mercy or his make-shift EMP with no thought as to what would happen next. His solutions tend to be quick fixes and patch jobs rather than long term treatments. Mercy sees him like a son, so she's not trying to be a bitch, she's trying to teach him to think before he acts. Tracer being his friend, is very protective of him, so she struggles with letting him make his own decisions because she knows that he'll often get hurt if he does. Again, not going to go into major spoilers, but Mei is starting to pick up some of the traits of the other two women. She likes Dan, he's her friend, and she's worried about D. Va. manipulating him because she 'knows' he'd fall for it. As for that pattern in my other stories, it really just boils down to this: I get along more with girls than I do with guys. I won't go too far into lemons. If people want to read more about my personal stuff with lemons, they can read Manifesto, because discussing it here would take waaay too long and I've already spent enough time as it is on this Author's Note, not that I mind. Again, thank you so much for your review. You are a huge help in giving me some things to work on with my writing. Without further ado, Chapter 7. Please enjoy. -Kiba**

"Oh shit…" Dan muttered, immediately getting up from his queen bed in the hotel room. Hana, who had decided to stay in his room, watched him with an impatient huff. "What happened?" he asked, holding up a finger to her to indicate he'd explain when he was done. "Y-yeah. I'll be there. I'll let you know when I have a ticket." Hanging up his phone, he let out a sigh before collapsing on to the bed. "Could today possibly get any worse?" he groaned.

"Any worse?" D. Va. huffed. "This should be the best day of your life. I mean seriously, am I roadkill or something?"

"Mei collapsed," Dan explained. "They said they need me to go back to Gibraltar to help treat her. I still don't know why you said what you did on the phone."

"Said what?"

"You know what. 'Sorry Mei, this is what happens when you don't catch one of the good ones'? I told you how things were between us. Now she'll never want to talk to me again," he sighed.

Placing her hand on his chin, Hana turned him to face her, and not in a way that was exactly gentle. "Forget about her," she instructed, before realizing her tone and returning to her cutesy voice. "You've got me now, right? Besides, you said there was nothing between you two, so why should it matter to her if we're dating or not?"

"Why do _you_ care so much?" he countered, tugging his chin from her hands. "You are world famous and we've literally known each other for one day. Are you in the habit of making men you've never met your boyfriend?"

"It's none of your business why I made you my boyfriend!"

"Seriously? That's the argument you're going to go with?"

"Hey," she grinned, "we're having our first argument as a couple." Her sudden declaration threw Dan off for a moment but he quickly shook himself out of it.

"Look Hana, you seem like a nice enough girl, but…"

"Nope."

"Sorry?"

"You can't break up with me. I forbid it." She folded her arms across her chest and crossed her legs with a smirk. "Sorry Dan, but not sorry. You're stuck with me."

"Yeah, I'm done playing this game with you," he grumbled, turning away from her and opening his suitcase. He began to pack away his things that'd he just unpacked before stopping and taking a deep breath in an attempt to try to calm himself.

Suddenly, he felt her arms slip beneath his to wrap around his chest before she nuzzled into his back. "I'm sorry if I did something to upset you," she said, the teasing tone in her voice gone. "Look, you don't get it, okay? I'm the prodigy. Everyone looks to me to be super awesome all the time and because of that guys don't tend to hang around me for long. That's why. Are you happy now?"

"You didn't upset me," he replied, staying completely still. Truth be told, he wasn't sure how to react to her sudden seriousness. "There's just too many factors right now and I can't trust you."

Turning him around, she looked as if she were about to cry, causing him to immediately regret what he said. "You don't trust me? But...why? I saved your life and...and...I spent the day with you," she stammered. "What did I do to make you not trust me?"

"Nothing!" he quickly answered. "Really, you've been great, it's not like that at all. It's just…"

"Just what?" she asked, starting to sniffle as she buried her face in his shirt. "Am I not showing you enough affection? Is it because I'm not pretty enough? What did I do wrong to make you want to break up with me?"

"Nothing," he repeated finally surrendering to her. "Look, I get what it's like to be seen for what you can do and not who you are, okay? That's the way I feel all the time. The only difference between us is, everyone sees me as the bottom rung. You're at least at the top. People admire you. People lecture me."

"What are you going to do about Mei?" she whispered, changing the subject.

"I have to help her. I"m going to finish packing and go to the airport. Once it's all said and done, they'll most likely send another agent to come observe you."

"No!" she quickly protested, causing him to be taken aback. "I don't want another agent, I want _you_." Walking over to her dresser she began to stuff her clothes into a duffel bag. "I'm coming with you."

"What? Hana…"

"Your job was to observe me, and as far as I'm concerned that is still your job. So if you can't stay here to watch me prove myself to Overwatch, I'll come with you and prove myself there."

"I don't think that's a good idea," he countered, but she didn't cease packing. Bending over to get something across the other Queen bed, Dan suddenly felt very flushed as her skin tight suit showed off her entire feminine figure.

Hana smirked as she made a show of her reaching. She could feel his eyes on her which meant that he was just about at the limit. He _would_ take her with him, whether he liked it or not. All he'd need is just one last tiny push.

"Hana, are you listening to me?"

She turned towards him, walking up to him and wrapping her arms flirtatiously around his neck. Before he could react, she placed her lips against his, drawing him into a deep and sensual kiss as her hands tangled in his hair. When at last they parted, she placed one last playful kiss on his nose. "I'm coming with you," she repeated. "I'm your girlfriend, that means we support each other. I'm going to come with you and support you as you cure your friend. Please, you can't change my mind about this." As she spun away from him, he was left speechless, making her grin even bigger. Hook, line, and sinker. "Besides, if Talon attacks again, who's going to protect you? Now that you know your teacher swapped your bullets, are you going to use your gun again?"

The question managed to break him out his trance as he looked down at the pistol. He didn't want to touch it. He wasn't afraid to touch it, McCree had broken him of that during training. No, now he didn't want to touch it because it haunted him. Now, every time he held it in his hand, he'd see the corpses of men and women and imagine their families mourning over their loss. "Fine," he surrendered, throwing a towel over the gun before stuffing it into his case. "You can come with me. I'm sure everyone will love to meet you for themselves."

"If they're half as nice as you are, I'm sure you're right. Let me order the tickets, I can put a rush on things. You just finish getting packed then take a shower. You'll feel better when you're done."

"Yeah, yeah," he agreed. "I guess you're right. Thanks." Once Dan turned the corner and closed the bathroom door behind him, Hana let out the breath she'd been holding. Things were getting tense now. She'd be able to delay him tonight at least.

Looking at her holoscreen she ordered two first class tickets on the MEKA budget to Gibraltar for the next morning. There was technically a plane leaving that night, but she knew that her work with Dan wasn't done yet. She'd need one more night if she wanted to seal the deal before they went back. If he saw Mei, there was no telling what would happen and he could ruin the entire thing for her.

She needed someone on the inside of Overwatch, and it never hurt to have someone to dote on her either. There was only one thing left to do to ensure that the nail was driven into the coffin. Grasping the zipper on her bodysuit, she slowly worked to shed it from her body. Almost immediately the cool air caused her nipples to harden through her bra as she shivered.

She could still hear the water running as she slipped out of her underwear, discarding them to the ground, no longer needed. She pondered briefly the best way to tackle the issue before deciding on the classic. Laying sideways on the bed, she made sure that when Dan came out he would be able to see every bit of her body.

A wry grin formed on her lips. Now in the proper 'paint me like one of your French girls' pose, all she'd have to do is wait for him to lose his mind and ravage her. She was even willing to let him think he was the one in charge, at least for now.

As the door opened, releasing a cloud of steam, Dan stepped out, wearing only a pair of nylon shorts that he usually slept in. As he came into the room and his eyes fell on her, she slowly ran her hand along the curves of her body as if to show off the gift he was about to receive.

For ten seconds, he just stared at her, completely stunned. Without a word, he turned, walked to the other bed, and slid beneath the covers before rolling over away from her. She gave an impatient huff. This was ridiculous!

She couldn't believe she was actually having to do this. There wasn't exactly a sexy or cute way to seduce someone so...prudish. Climbing from her bed, she too slipped into his, sliding up against him. Her breasts pressed against his back, she pouted before whispering in his ear. "What's wrong? Do you not find me attractive?"

He said nothing, his body completely frozen, eyes staring straight at the wall. He could barely fathom what was going on. Hana began to trace small circles around his navel, as she tried to ensure that as much of her as possible was touching him.

"Dan?" she whimpered, already working up her crocodile tears. "Please speak to me, Dan. I don't want you to ignore me."

His lips parted as he tried to think of how to respond, but the best he could muster was "I'm not trying to ignore you. You're very attractive."

 _Thank God,_ she thought, a semi-relieved breath caressing his shoulder. Her other hand trailed downward, past its twin and even further to slip within the elastic waistband. Just as she expected, blood had already begun to pump through his engorged member. "Tell my I'm sexy," she breathed huskily. "Please?"

Dan swallowed nervously as her fingertips brushed against his dick. Tilting his head slightly to the side, he whispered back, "You're very sexy, Hana."

She smiled allowing herself an inner cheer. Wrapping her hand around his shaft, she slowly began to stroke it up and down, working it to full stiffness as her lips massaged his neck. "Does this feel good?" she purred. With every stroke, he'd be thinking less with his upper head and more with his lower one.

He nodded, his body now pressing back against her. Victory was hers. She'd won. Now, it was time for her to claim her prize. Releasing him briefly, she grasped his shoulders, pinning him on his back before easily straddling his waist with a smirk. Her lips roughly crashed against his as she kept him trapped beneath her with minimal effort.

He'd begun to kiss her back, his hands now running to trail along her outer thighs. All of her planning was coming to fruition as he grasped her hips, sitting up straight with her in his arms. She gave a soft moan into his kiss as she dragged her nails gently down his back. "You taste sweet," she commented when they separated. "I guess that only makes sense. You're sweeter than any other boy I've dated." _Or at least you're more oblivious than any other boy I've dated._

"I...I'm new to this," he admitted. "I mean...we just met...and…"

She shushed him, placing a finger to his lips. "No talking," she stated. "I want you to just lay down and relax, okay? I'll handle everything. I want to show you how much you mean to me."

He nodded silently, allowing her to once again push him down on his back so that she could drape herself over him. She placed kisses all over his throat and neck, even gently nibbling on his earlobe.

His hands continued to roam her body, seemingly confused about where to rest or what to do. "Take off your pants," she instructed. He complied almost immediately, wriggling out of the shorts before tossing them into the abandoned pile beside them. "Good boy."

Placing one last peck on his lips, she began to slowly drag her body along his. Her hard nipples would run along his flesh, sending a tingling pleasure through both of them. Hana could already feel herself starting to get wet just in thought of what was to come, and as she slid back on him, it left a slick trail beneath her.

Rising up, she lowered herself slowly so her pussy lips wrapped around his shaft, pinning it against his stomach. As she began to gyrate her hips, she tilted her head back and gave a pleasured sigh. Her clit brushed against his glans, sending burning pleasure through her entire being.

At this point, she had him panting like a dog beneath her, unused to the amount of stimulation she was providing. Taking his hands in hers, she guided them to her chest, holding them there as she continued to grind against his cock.

Small mewls of pleasure spurred his primal drive onward, tangling him even more in her pleasurable web until finally, she moved to slowly allow his tip to spread her apart and slip inside of her. Her body felt feverish and warm as he filled her more and more, her chest rising and falling as she savored the look of sheer bliss in his eyes.

In this moment, Hana felt truly amazing. She was his goddess. In his mind, she knew, he was worshipping her every feature, begging her to allow him the satisfaction, nay the honor of being allowed to kiss her lips. To feel the brush of her skin beneath his fingertips. He belonged to her, body and mind, and she wouldn't let him slip from her grasp when she was so close to having her spot in Overwatch solidified.

A sharp moan escaped from her throat as his cock reached her cervix, sending waves of pleasure through her body. "Are you okay?" he asked, but she simply shut him up with another kiss before sinking herself further on to him.

Now that he knew she wasn't hurt, his arms wrapped around her to hold her against him. She hadn't been expecting that. She knew the premise of this encounter was meant to be a romantic one, but she hadn't actually expected him to show her intimate affection on his own initiative.

His lips found her throat as he traced up her spine. He was so gentle, Hana wasn't entirely sure what to do. So she chose to do nothing. She fell still in his arms, allowing herself to enjoy the affection he gave. He hadn't even noticed that she'd stopped it seemed. It felt nice, she admitted.

After a few moments, she gathered herself, placing a grateful kiss on his cheek before beginning again. This time, doubling her efforts to drive him insane. The fit gamer began to tighten her thighs around him in order to massage his cock with her inner folds. Tilting her head back, she placed her hands on her chest and bounced on his hips, her small body light enough that neither felt discomfort.

"H-hana…" Dan groaned, his breath growing ragged as he tried to control his own body.

"Do it," she pleaded. "Cum for me, please! I want to feel it!"

Sitting up, Dan embraced her, pulling her into an intimate kiss as their bodies seized up together, both of them cumming together before collapsing onto the bed in a state of bliss. She continued to press her lips back against him before finally parting with a smile.

"Wow…" Dan muttered, unsure of what else to say. As the two untangled themselves, he still tried to wrap his head around what had just occurred. However, once the bliss began to recede back into his mind, realization seized on him. "Please tell me you're on the pill," he mumbled, burying his face in the pillow.

"What? No, of course not. This is Korea, silly. We lock down men by tricking them into sex. Now you've no choice but to stay with me."

Dan sat up, covering his face with his hands before moved to sit in front of him before pulling them away. "I'm an idiot," he grumbled, averting his eyes from her.

"Dan. I was joking, lighten up. Yes, I'm on the pill and I'm not trying to trap you into marriage."

He turned beet red. Now he was even more embarrassed. "See? Idiot."

She chuckled before wrapping her arms around him and nuzzling against his neck. "Maybe, but you're my idiot," she teased before placing a sweet kiss on his cheek. "I bought us tickets for the earliest flight tomorrow morning. I know it's hard because you're worried about your friend, but we should get some sleep."

Dan smiled as she yawned cutely, laying her head on the pillow beside his. Turning off the lights, he also laid down next to her, the two cuddling together. "Hana, I'm really sorry I didn't trust you. I...I don't know what came over me. Please forgive me?"

Leaning forward she placed a kiss on his nose. "I forgive you, but only because you're cute. Also, as punishment, you have to be the big spoon."

"What?"

She let out a frustrated sigh. This was going to take getting used to. Grasping his hands, she pulled them around her and pressed her back against his chest. "There. Now you have to hold me like this until I fall asleep."

"That doesn't seem like a punishment," he whispered, snuggling against her.

"Good boy."

It wasn't long after that D. Va. had fallen fast asleep in his arms. Dan wasn't entirely sure what to do. When he tried to press closer to her, her hair would get into his mouth, and if he tried to pull back she'd stir as if she were about to wake up.

Closing his eyes, he tried to stay completely still hoping to fall asleep as he was, but soon he felt his hand brush against her exposed breast. She let out a happy breath, but did not wake. Curiously, he allowed his hand to rise once more, cupping one lightly.

In her slumber, she mewled happily, turning slightly to press against him more. He could scarcely believe that such a soft and frail-looking girl could be such a powerful fighter. Despite their recent love making, he desperately wanted to continue exploring her body, but...he also didn't want her to wake up.

She looked so serene and peaceful. He could tell that she was reluctant about her life. She carried on for her people, and now she wanted to join Overwatch, just like he did. Did she really have a sense of grander justice? Was she as attached to him as she claimed? He hadn't lied when he'd said he trusted her, but that didn't mean he still believed it.

As his thumb brushed against her nipple, she stirred, rolling over to face him, her eyes opening slightly. "Enjoying yourself?" she purred gently. Busted! Before Dan could stammer out an excuse, she pressed herself closer to him. "I don't mind. We have a thirteen hour flight tomorrow, I just figured you would be tired."

Letting out the nervous breath he was holding, he shook his head before kissing her once more. This time as he drew her close to him, his thigh slid between her legs. She allowed herself to take respite in his grasp, placing a hand over his where it massaged her breast.

Sucking on his lower lip, she nibbled it playfully before leaning further into him. This time as her lips parted, she was surprised to feel his tongue slipping between them. He was becoming bolder and more forward, and that excited her. However, she also knew she needed to maintain control, so after caressing his tongue with her own, she pulled away.

"Do you want to try something new?" she asked. Dan bit his lip anxiously before nodding. Rolling him on to his back, she lowered herself down his body, kissing and nibbling a trail from his throat, all the way until she reached his cock, now hard once again.

He lifted his head to watch her curiously, eager to see her plan, and as she wrapped her lips around his tip, he immediately began seeing stars. He gasped, his head falling back on the pillow as she slowly slid her lips up and down his member, her beautiful amber eyes never leaving his for a moment.

His hand ran through her soft hair, causing her to nuzzle against it with a playful wink. As she sank even lower on to him, she gave a quiet moan, leaving a glistening trail of spit on his flesh. If he wasn't hers to control before, he certainly would be now. Taking a moment to let his tip fall from her lips, she gave it an affectionate lap before moving to straddle his chest. If she was going to pleasure him, she wanted to make sure he would pleasure her too.

Crouching low to him, she arched her back to show off her bare pussy. Wiggling her hips she kissed the side of his shaft before sliding slowly back on to his chin. Shyly, he let his tongue run along her pussy lips. His hands gripped her hips, holding her steady as he tried to please her.

"Mmm, deeper," she moaned to him, pausing her affection to enjoy her new boyfriend's tongue. As Dan pierced her folds, he soon found that he could taste himself inside of her. Before he could pull away, she pressed down on to him. It was clear that she did not share his reluctance.

All it took was one lick on his sensitive tip and he soon became far more obedient. The two of them laid together that way, lapping and slurping at one another madly. Dan's hands massaged her breasts as she finally came again, drenching his mouth and chin. She panted excitedly before with one long suck, she too made him finish, much to her shock. Pulling from him, she coughed, rivulets of spunk trailing down her chin as she stuck out her tongue, clearly displeased.

"Dan!" she complained, "Next time, warn me before you cum! Sheesh!"

"I'm sorry," he murmured beneath her.

"Ugh...it tastes awful," she complained, standing up from him to get a glass of water from their sink. Following her into the bathroom, Dan frowned, leaning against the wall behind her. As she gargled the water, she looked in the mirror to see a look of shame in his eyes. After she spit, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand before turning to face him. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"I'm just really sorry I upset you," he whispered.

"You didn't upset me," she replied, "I just don't like it when guys cum in my mouth. It tastes gross and it feels weird and just...blech." Smiling, she leaned forward and kissed his cheek. "But I know you didn't know, so I'm not mad. Just in the future, don't do it again, okay?" He nodded to show he understood. "Good boy." Moving back to the bed, she sighed contently, slipping back beneath the covers. "Come on," she called. "I'm cold and you're supposed to keep me warm. We have to leave in a few hours for the plane."

Silently, Dan did as she asked, curling up beside her before they fell fast asleep together. He was glad she didn't hate him. He vowed he'd be far more careful from that point on to keep her happy.

The next morning, Dan awoke to the sound of Hana getting dressed. As his eyes opened, he was greeted by the same outfit she'd worn when they'd first met, complete with cap and shades. "Good morning," he yawned, stretching his arms. "Did you have sweet dreams?"

Shaking out her hair, she tossed him a set of clothes she'd removed from his suitcase. "Get dressed," she instructed. "Our flight leaves in less than an hour. Be glad that I'm here, otherwise you would have missed it."

Lifting the shirt she'd chosen, he looked to the bathroom. "Do I at least have time to take a shower?"

"Do you want miss our flight?" she countered, causing him to immediately fall silent. "Good answer. I took the liberty of picking something out for you. Now c'mon. Chop chop. We're in a hurry. The limo is waiting for us outside."

"Did...I do something wrong?" Dan asked, slipping his shoes on.

"No, why? Did you do something while I was asleep?"

"No, you're just being rather…" her eyes narrowed at him, daring him to finish the sentence, "impatient?"

"I'm not a morning person," she explained. "Are you done yet?"

"Yeah. Let's go." As he went to the door, she watched as he stooped down to grab her bags before opening the door for her.

As she brushed past him, his eyes went to the tray of mostly eaten food sitting just outside their hotel room. She'd ordered room service? How long had she been awake? Noticing his gaze, she frowned. "Oh, yeah...sorry about that. I figured you'd want to sleep in a bit more, so I didn't wake you. They said they'd bill it to the room, I hope that's not too much of a problem."

"No, no. Not at all," he quickly assured her. "I'll talk to Winston when I get back and explain. I'm sure he'll be okay with it, if not I'll cover it."

She smiled at him, stroking his cheek gratefully before moving past him towards the elevators. As they rode down, she pulled out a handkerchief before turning him towards her. "Here," she offered, licking it and rubbing his face. "You've still got cum on your chin."

"Th-thanks," he stammered, his cheeks turning a bright red. He'd really have liked to take a shower after their encounter. He still could feel the residue of sweat and grime on his body and it bothered him.

"Don't mention it," she responded, folding it up and placing it back in her pocket once she was done. As the doors opened, she led him out and into the car.

They rode together mostly in silence, Dan staring at her as she perched her chin in her hand boredly. "Hey, Hana…" he began, but she quickly interrupted him.

"I'm sure I don't need to say this, but I'd really appreciate it if you kept last night just between us," she stated. "It's not that I'm ashamed or anything, just that I've always felt like our private lives should be private. If paparazzi got a hold of it, they'd probably follow you everywhere and I don't want you to suffer because of something we did, you know?"

"Oh, yeah. No problem, I wasn't going to say anything. It's not like it's anyone else's business what we do, right?""

"Exactly. Now then, you were about to say something? Sorry, I interrupted."

"Oh, it's not important," he assured her, causing her to nod and turn back to look at the window. He moved to sit beside her, placing his hand on hers. "I just wanted to say, thank you for last night. I erm...really enjoyed it."

A smile crept on her face. "Good. I enjoyed it too. You weren't bad for your first time. That's okay though, we'll work on it. Together." Leaning in, she placed a kiss on his cheek just as the car began to slow. "Looks like we're here. Shall we?"

He nodded, getting their bags out of the trunk and following her through the terminal. It wasn't long before they finally were on the plane. Dan had never flown first class before, and he was amazed by how big the seats were. Sinking into the seat, he got settled and prepared for the long flight back to Gibraltar.

"You okay?" she asked with a giggle. "You look like a kid in a candy store."

"I'm just not used to being in such luxury," he answered, his hand moving to intertwine with hers. She smiled warmly at him with a nod, squeezing his hand back. "I mean it, Hana. Thank you for all of this. Things...things weren't great for me before yesterday. I'm really happy I met you."

"Me, too. Do you know what the best thing about first class is?" He shook his head. Drawing their curtain shut, the two of them now had complete privacy from the rest of the aircraft. "So long as we're quiet, we can do whatever we want," she purred to him. Lifting up the armrest that separated them she slid closer to hug him tightly. "Thirteen hours is a long time," she whispered in his ear. "Think you can keep me entertained?"

* * *

Tracer swiftly marched into the med bay, phone in hand. "That was Dan," she announced. "He says they just landed and that he'll be here soon. Has there been any change Mercy?"

"Her heart's swollen a bit more, but it's rate is the same as it has been. We can't afford to turn the staff off though, otherwise the swelling may cause it to rupture. Let's hope nothing goes wrong when Dan gets here."

The pilot frowned as she went to Mei's side. Staring down at her, she gently rested her hand on her bare shoulder. "She still hasn't shown any signs of waking up either?"

"No, she began to come out of it, but I quickly sedated her. If she were to wake up to find she was back in the med bay and that Dan was returning, it would risk another panic attack and then we'd really be in trouble." Just as she finished her explanation, she sniffed the air before turning to shoot a glare at McCree. "Jesse! Treat this as you would a hospital, please!"

"Sheesh, fine Doc," he grumbled, extinguishing his cigar on the bottom of his boot before tossing it in the trash. "I smoke when I'm nervous, can you blame me?"

"Yes," she replied, "Yes, I can."

Winston scaled the railings to come to their side. "Good news, Dan's arrived at the gates. I went ahead and opened them for him, but he's not alone."

"What?!" Tracer asked, grabbing her guns. "Does Talon really have to attack right this second?!"

"Easy there," the ape replied, using his massive arm to block her off before she went charging head first. "He's with Hana Song. I guess she convinced him to let her tag along. This is beneficial anyway, she'll be a good influence on Dan, I think."

Tracer sighed, holstering her guns. "Don't scare me like that big guy. You'll put me in a bed right next to Mei if you keep talking that way."

"Let me go get him prepped," Mercy suggested, moving past the two to soar across the base. Looking down, she saw the familiar shape of Dan and slowly descended to meet with him. "Dan, thank God you're here." Her eyes took in his slightly disarrayed clothes and hair before frowning at the two.

"Hello Doctor," he greeted back, bowing his head politely. "How is she?"

"Better now that you're here. Why didn't you come on the plane that was scheduled to come in last night?" she demanded. "Tracer said she told you how urgent this was."

"There wasn't a plane last night," he protested. "Hana checked and said that this morning's was the earliest. You know I would have come sooner if I could."

Mercy's sharp gaze went from Dan to the young girl beside him before she nodded over her shoulder. "What matters is you're here now. Let me show you where the controls are and I'll fill you in on the case notes. To make a long story short, Mei has a nanobot factory attached to her heart that's gone into overdrive. Your EMP would have knocked it out, but it instead made it start absorbing more electricity." Just as he was about to defend himself, she continued on. "I know you couldn't have known Dan, you're not in trouble. We don't have time for back and forth questions so I'm trying to give you as much information as we have in as little time as possible. Stay focused. We'll be sending in a nano probe that has an attached laser. Your job will be to pilot it remotely and detach, but not destroy the factory. If we can get it off her heart it will lose power and she'll be safe. Now her heart's swollen, so her BPM is through the roof and you can't blast all willy nilly or else it may send her into cardiac arrest. Do you think you can handle that?"

"Yes ma'am," he quickly replied. "Show me the controls."

As they swiftly moved through the base, Hana stayed on their heels looking around in awe. "So this is Overwatch," she murmured. "It's not at all like I'd have imagined it. I expected something more grand. Maybe something made of glass or steel."

"Gibraltar was a storage facility back in the old days," Dan replied. "It was one of the last ones available when the UN shut down our facilities. So, we have to try to stay off the radar or else we can be in big trouble."

"As far as I'm concerned, we're already in big trouble," Angela interrupted. "Now get in the chair and put on the headset. It'll give you your eyes from the Nanobot. It'll be a little hard to navigate at first, but we'll be feeding you directions. Okay?"

"Yes ma'am," he nodded, just as the doors opened, revealing everyone standing around the operating table. It was then that the pressure really began to settle over Dan. His time with Hana had managed to distract him from it, but now he could feel the self-doubt sinking in.

"You'll be fine, Dan," Mercy assured him, placing her hands on his shoulders and pushing him back into the leather chair. "It's going to be okay."

"Okay," he replied, taking deep breaths as the visor lowered around him. With a flicker, the screen activated to show that the probe was presently pointed downward at Mei's exposed chest. He took a sharp breath as visions from the previous night flashed in his mind. He quickly shook them away. Now wasn't the time! Wrapping his hands around the two joysticks that were on either side of the arms, he experimentally moved the probe within the syringe. "Testing movement diagnostics. Controls are fluid and active."

"Excellent," Mercy replied. "Beginning injection."

The camera went dark as she slammed the syringe hard through her chest, injecting the nanomachine directly into Mei's heart. Immediately the sensors went off, making Dan jump slightly in surprise.

"It's okay Dan, that's just the machine informing you that her heart rate suffered a very slight increase. It should stabilize now that the shock has worn off. What can you see?"

"I...ummm," he stammered, looking into the lenses. "I see a passage straight ahead that's shaped kind of like...well a heart."

"Okay, you're in the right atrium. Enter the tricuspid valve and move into her right ventricle. Be careful not to…" her words were interrupted by another alarm going off. "...hold open the valve. Get out of their quick Dan before it contracts again."

Barely managing to wriggle through before the heart pumped, Dan suddenly wished he had a heart monitor of his own on. His chest felt tight and he was having some difficulty breathing. "You can do it Dan," Hana whispered from beside him giving him a light peck on his cheek, causing his heart to race even more. More lewd images flashed into his vision as he tried to regain control of himself.

"Where to now, Doc?" he asked, his voice trying to remain stable.

"Look to your right. You should see some metallic anchors. Can you see them?"

His eyes scanned the viewer searching for them. "No," he replied. "I can't see anything. It looks completely intact."

"Then look harder," Mercy stated firmly. "You have to find the anchors that are keeping that thing attached to her heart. If it doesn't become dislodged we may have to perform open heart surgery and extract it that way, understand?"

"I...I don't…" he began to gasp as he tried desperately to find the anchors. His stomach was doing flips now and as all of the pressure began to get to him, his hands began to tremble fiercely. He couldn't keep the drone still.

"Here Dan, let me," Hana said, helping him from the chair. "These controls are just like MEKA's, so I'll be fine. You go ahead and get some fresh air. You don't need to be in here while we're doing this. I know your friend is on the line."

"O-okay," he murmured before turning and running out the door. Tracer went to go after him, but Jesse quickly held her arm and shook his head.

"Girl's right. We may have put too much pressure on him. It'd be hard for anyone to have to operate on a friend. The girl's got experience with controls, she'll be more help than him right now. Let him go."

Tracer jerked her arm away from Jesse before crossing her arms with a sigh. She didn't like this one bit.

Dan's feet pounded against the warehouse's stone floor before he fell to his hands and knees, taking in large deep breaths as he tried to get enough air in his body. He couldn't believe how badly he'd choked this time. Mei was counting on him, and he couldn't help her, all because he couldn't focus on her instead of Hana.

Meanwhile, within a nearby storage unit, a man was scavenging through the stripped remains of old Overwatch artillery. Somewhere in here, he knew he'd find what he was looking for. The grizzled old man had short white hair, the same cut he'd had since he'd first joined the military so many years ago. On his back was emblazoned the number 76.

He froze when he heard the sound of gasps coming from behind him, and he immediately grit his teeth, tightly clutching his pulse rifle. Had he already been made? No, his visor hadn't given any indication that they knew he was here.

Just as he went to move away, a small rocket clattered to the floor, causing him to curse under his breath. "Who's there?" Dan demanded, shakily, starting to stand. He'd left his gun in his baggage, but still he crept towards the warehouse anyway. "Hello?"

As he turned the corner, he was surprised to find the container completely empty. On the ground was a helix rocket, simply resting there. Carefully, he picked it up from the ground setting it back on the shelf. Leaning his back against the wall, he slid down with a sigh and buried his head in his arms. He'd failed them...again. He wondered where they'd send him now. Maybe they'd send him home or to some place far away where he'd just stay forever.

The grizzled old man silently clambered down from his hiding place in the corner of the container, slowly reaching for the rocket. His hand froze, however, when he heard Dan sniffling. _Don't you do it, Jack. Don't do it. You're not a hero, you're just a soldier trying to do your job. You don't have to save every kitten in every tree,_ he thought to himself. However, his conscious won out as he tucked the rocket in his pack.

Sitting down beside him, he sighed. "All right son, why are you crying?" he begrudgingly asked.

Dan was taken aback by the sudden voice, causing him to recoil in shock. "Who are you?!" he demanded, reaching for anything to defend himself.

"Your fairy godmother. Does it matter? I could have shot you and I didn't, so don't make me waste my time playing twenty questions instead of helping your stupid ass. Now, talk!"

Dan's eyes fell to the jersey he wore and immediately he recognized the man. "You're that thief," he stated.

"Watch what you're accusing me of," he snarled.

"You're the one stealing all the Overwatch tech! The guy they call Soldier 76! Drop your weapons and surrender yourself."

He rolled his eyes before quickly striking Dan hard in the jaw. "Look kid, if you're going to threaten a man with a gun, you'd better have one yourself. There is nothing stopping me from putting a bullet in your skull."

"Go ahead," Dan snapped back, rubbing his jaw. "I'd rather be dead than fail Overwatch again."

"Fail Overwatch...are you dense? You haven't _failed_ anything. Overwatch is the one who failed the world, kid. We were supposed to be heroes, and instead we decided to play around like a bunch of mercenaries. Well now look around you. Gangs run the streets of Mexico, are you going to help out there? No? Well then what about the all of the riots in Brazil? Oh you don't care about that either, do you? Seems to me like Overwatch has been failing more and more lately."

"Shut up!" Dan argued. "We can't handle everything, that's true, but we're doing our best! What would a thief like you know about being a hero anyway?"

76 took a deep breath, calming himself. "You're right kid," he admitted. "I'm no hero. Not anymore. Even still, old habits die hard. I'm offering you my help. Do you want it or not?"

"You can't help me," he shot back. "Not unless you are some miracle heart surgeon/engineer."

"You're a heart surgeon and an engineer?" the man asked skeptically.

"No, I'm not. That's the point. Right now, my friend is lying on a table dying and my girlfriend, who I just met for the first time yesterday is presently doing the job I should be doing, all because I choked on the pressure. God, Mercy must think I'm such a failure. She never should have asked me to do the stupid operation."

"Well...that raises quite a few questions. So I imagine your friend is the one troubling you most, let's focus on that. I imagine that if Angela asked you to do the operation, it's because she has faith in you, so what gives? What's so special about you?"

Dan frowned, looking at his feet. "I don't know," he admitted. "I don't know why she asked for me, just that she did. Considering how badly I messed up last time…"

"Last time? Who gives a damn about last time? Focus on this time. Now I'll ask again and I want you to think deep. Why would Angela, the world's best surgeon and doctor, ask a no-name punk like you to perform an operation in her stead?"

"I...I don't know…"

"Are those the only three words you know? Because 'I don't know' doesn't save lives, kid. 'I don't know' may seem like some wise answer, but all it means is that you think it's smarter to tell the world you're an idiot. Stop and find the answer to the question. Take a guess. Why you?"

Dan closed his eyes, taking deep breaths. "Because it would be something only I could do. She wouldn't be able to do it herself, so she'd need someone else."

"Finally, we're getting somewhere. So she can't do it herself. She needs you to do it, why?"

"Because it's something I know how to do that she doesn't…" Dan whispered to himself, understanding starting to dawn on him. "She's asking for my help because she wouldn't be able to do it otherwise."

"So, what do you know that the great Dr. Ziegler does not?"

"Tech. She designed the Valkyrie suit, but she needed Winston to put it together. That's why she has me repair it when it gets damaged and that's why she needed me to pilot the drone."

"Good on you. Now, moving on to your friend. Would you do your best to help her?"

"Of course!"

"I'm just asking. Cool your jets. So why is it that you weren't doing your best earlier? What was holding you back?"

"Well...yesterday...I'm really not comfortable with talking about this."

"Tough shit," he snapped. "I'm not sitting here so you can fall short on me when you're close to actually becoming a damned man. What held you back?"

"I lost my virginity yesterday and I can't stop thinking about it."

"...Yeah, I shouldn't have pushed that. Assuming you could focus, what else is the problem?"

Dan closed his eyes thinking about it. "Dr. Ziegler said there were supposed to be anchors in her heart wall, but I couldn't see any. They should have been there but I couldn't see them. I was too distracted."

"Fuck the distractions, remember? Maybe the anchors aren't there. Why?"

"It wouldn't make any sense for them to not be there. Mercy said…"

"Mercy, as we've discussed, needed you because she couldn't do it herself. So don't listen to her input on the thing _you_ are supposed to know that she doesn't. You're the tech guy. Why aren't the anchors there? Why is Mercy wrong?"

The assistant took another deep breath, keeping his eyes closed and visualising Mei's heart. "Scans showed that the production bot was filling up her pericardium with nanobots. Her heart is in tachycardia because of the repeated shocks to it that cause it to continue to pump out more. If it swells, it causes more pain. But that doesn't make any sense. Why would her heart swell? It should be contracting if the bots are being formed outside of it."

"Okay, and…?"

"Maybe the heart isn't swelling," Dan muttered. "Maybe something just makes it look like it is."

"Something like…?" To be honest, he had no idea where he was going with this, but the kid looked like he was on the verge of some breakthrough. The faster he got this kid gone, the faster he could leave the facility before someone who could recognize him caught him.

Dan continued to think as hard as he could, when suddenly it occurred to him. "I know what's wrong," he whispered, standing up quickly. "I didn't see any anchors in her heart because there weren't any in her heart. The machine isn't anchored to her heart. I've got to tell them before Hana tries to do something else."

"Good job. Now get in there, be a man, and do what you have to." As he tore off back towards the med bay, Jack Morrison stood up with a tired groan. "God that took forever," he grumbled, packing up the helix rockets into his bag. "Maybe I should go into being a therapist...heh. Yeah Jack, you're one to talk."

To be continued...


	8. Chapter 8

Enraptured in Ice Ch. 8

 **AN: So, I've been getting a lot of chatter about how I messed up Mei's name in the earlier chapters of the story. Some of it's been friendly, others...not so much. I understand that sometimes people are just trying to help as is the case with Minaly22 (thank you again), and maybe I'm just being sensitive, but there's a fine line between politely pointing out a mistake and being an ass. If you struggle between the two I'll give a few hints: rudely telling me to 'get it right' or sending me private messages that are blatantly insulting, that's being an ass. Pointing out the mistake without insults, judging my work based on content instead of one honest mistake, offering helpful criticism: polite. I'm sorry if this AN comes off as me being super shitty, I get everyone has bad days, but I'm honestly doing my best here guys. If you enjoy my work, don't be a dick to me. If you don't enjoy it, that's fine. I wouldn't even be mad. You can even tell me you don't like it, so long as you do so politely. Tldr: I'm not perfect. I make mistakes sometimes. Please be polite when reviewing. I'm doing my best here. -Kiba**

Dan sprinted into the lab, causing everyone to look at him with a start. "Stop!" he shouted, panting. "I'm back. Let me do it."

"Dan, you're too close to this," Hana replied, turning slightly to scan more of the heart wall. "I'm going to shoot these anchors and get this over with."

"Hana, don't! You don't know what you're doing. If you shoot inside of her heart, you'll kill her."

"Dan," she protested, "I'm far more qualified for this than you are. I'm trained to keep a level head in these tense situations. You can still watch, if you like but don't distract me."

"I won't ask you again, Hana. Let me have the controls so I can save her. I know what's wrong and it'll take too much time to explain what to do."

She paused for a moment, "I hate to bring this up, but if you recall not even twenty minutes ago, you ran out of here because you couldn't handle the pressure. This is to protect you, Dan. You're sweet to care so much, but Overwatch doesn't run on sweet. Sometimes, the members have to make hard choices and it's clear you're not willing to do that."

He turned her chair to face him, his eyes full of flames. "You are _NOT_ a member of this team!" he boomed. "You are being observed and considered for a position and until that judgment is made, I am your superior officer and I am _ordering_ you to step aside and give me the controls!"

The entire room fell silent as Hana lifted the helmet from her head. She couldn't believe what he'd just said. Even still, she moved aside, allowing him to take her position. "Dan," Mercy whispered, trying to calm him, but he quickly shook her off.

"I was right! There aren't any anchors in her heart," he stated. "The machine isn't anchored to her heart. It's anchored to her pericardium. When I used the EMP it must have reversed its polarity and made it tug on the heart whenever electricity pumped through it. That's why her heart is swelling instead of compressing from the outside. An oscillating electric field causes a magnetic field and vice versa. That means when you turn off your staff, the electricity is feeding back in on itself and making her heart oscillate faster. Turn it off."

"Dan, if I turn it off she'll..."

"Doctor, in order for me to get into the pericardium, I have to cut a hole into her heart wall, and I can't do that if you keep closing the hole up on me. Turn it off."

"Please know what you're doing," she whispered, reaching up and deactivating the staff. As soon as she did, Mei's heart pumped even faster, causing the probe to struggle with holding steady. Just as Dan predicted, one of the nanobots cut a hole just large enough for him to enter through. When he navigated, he began destroying nanobots one after another, freeing him more room to maneuver. When he'd finally destroyed the last of them, his sights now turned to locating the producer.

"Turn it on again."

Activating it once more, Dan clutched the joysticks tightly, each movement calculated and precise. Mei's heart rate was lowered again and he knew that it was too dangerous to remove the producer. "Okay Dan, now to remove this you'll need to…"

"We're not removing it," he interrupted, causing Mercy to pull the helmet off of him.

"Dan! We have to remove it or else she'll die."

"Doctor you picked me to do this for a reason! I know machines. I know how this tech works. Please, you have to trust that I know what I'm doing." His eyes stared deep into hers and she could see the desperation there. "Please, just trust me." She nodded and let it go, allowing him to reassume control of the drone. "We aren't removing it. I'm going to fix it. Athena, lower the intensity of the laser to match the frequency of the oscillating fields please."

"Finished recalibrating, Dan."

Aiming carefully, Dan began to pulse the electric field emitted by the laser into the machine. Just as he thought, the frequencies began to slowly adjust to compensate. Mei's heart began to slow back down, no longer receiving the machine's interference.

"BPM's dropping," Mercy said astounded. "Her vitals are stabilizing."

"Returning drone to extraction mode," Dan sighed, taking off the helmet and collapsing back into the chair. "Athena run a full body diagnostic...twice. Can we please make sure that this doesn't happen again?"

"Told you he could do it," Winston grunted, moving to Dan's side. Placing his massive hand on his shoulder, he flashed him a thumb's up. "You did it, son. Excellent work."

"Thanks sir...I mean, Winston."

As everyone began to crowd around him to congratulate him, he managed to catch a glimpse of Hana slipping out of the medbay. "Sorry everyone, give me a moment please?" He broke away from them, going outside after her. "Hana?" he called, looking around, but there was no response. Moving further, he rounded the corner of a building to see her standing there, back against the wall. "Hey, I was calling you. Didn't you hear me?"

"Oh! So I guess I'm supposed to just come running whenever you call my name like a dog?" she snapped bitterly.

"No, but general courtesy is to respond when someone is looking for you," he teased, only for her to turn from him with a huff. He walked up to her, wrapping his arms around her waist, but she pulled away again. "Hana, I'm sorry I yelled at you, it's just…"

"It's just you wanted the attention for yourself," she finished.

"No, it's that you would have killed her and I had to save her life," he protested. "She's my friend and you didn't have what it takes to save her."

"I didn't have what it takes?!" she shouted, wheeling on him and grabbing him by the collar. "Let me tell you something, Dan. I'm the best damned Starcraft player in the _world_. My recorded average reaction time is .2 seconds, that's a tenth of the typical person! I have an IQ of 165 and the scale only goes up to 160! I was chosen out of a pool of hundreds of thousands of soldiers, scientists, doctors, and professors to take command of MEKA at the age of 14! There is _nothing_ I cannot do, and how dare you say something so stupid and ignorant like 'I don't have what it takes'. At the end of the day Dan, I am _your_ superior, and don't you ever forget it!"

Dan said nothing, simply averting his eyes and staring at his shoes. Releasing him, Hana smoothed out his collar, before turning away again. "Are you out of your damned mind?" he murmured, causing her to freeze. "Is that all you can think about is yourself and your damned pride? I'm sorry that you somehow misinterpreted what I said as being an insult to your character or ability, but that was my friend dying on that table and your ego was going to get her killed. I know you're smart, Hana. I know you're strong and confident and brave. You're far more likely to become a member of Overwatch simply by applying than I am after years of studying and hard work. But this is not about you. This was about Mei's life and making sure that she got to live because if the positions were switched and it was you on that table, you can bet that I would have done the same thing to her."

"God, you're such an idiot," she muttered.

"Maybe so," he agreed, moving closer to her. Wrapping his arms around her, he drew her close to him. "But I'm your idiot."

A soft smile spread across her lips as she began to chuckle. "Damn it, how can you do that? I want to be mad at you, but you're just too dumb to stay angry at."

"It's a gift," he shrugged. "Now don't I get some sort of reward for being the hero for once?"

She rolled her eyes. "I suppose you do deserve something," she replied before pressing her lips firmly against his. When they parted, she nuzzled against his cheek before whispering in his ear. "Just to be perfectly clear, if you ever talk to me the way you did in there again, I'll cut your balls off. Got it?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Good. Now, I'm going to get unpacked and take a shower. If you hurry, I may even let you join me," she purred, walking towards the guest barracks with a seductive sway in her hips. As Dan watched her leave, he could hear the sound of muffled footsteps behind him.

"Come out," he sighed. "I know you were listening in on us."

Sure enough, Tracer stepped out from behind one of the storage units. "I came to check on you," she explained. "You seemed busy, so I didn't want to interrupt. I see you and her are pretty serious, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Dan, are you sure about this? You know I care about you, and I'm just trying to protect you, but are you sure that she and you are on the same page here?"

"I know you're not suggesting that you intend to get involved in my love life."

"Not at all. I'm warning you to be careful which bridges you cross and which ones you burn. I think I speak for everyone when I say that I was impressed by your change in attitude during the operation. But I also speak for everyone when I say that that change has it's time and place and that if the old Dan were to disappear completely, it would be a loss. Not just for me, but all of Overwatch, too."

He leaned against the wall, closing his eyes. "I just can't do anything right, can I?" he asked. "Everyone tells me to be more outspoken, so I try to be more outspoken. Now you're telling me I was perfectly fine the way I was, and to stop being as outspoken. It just seems that for people who are supposed to be my friends, you're all pretty hell bent on changing me."

"Not change you, help you. No one is perfect Dan. Not you, and not your girlfriend."

"Leave Hana out of this," he warned. "She has nothing to do with anything."

"All right, all right. Cool your jets, love. No need to be so defensive. All I'm trying to say Dan is to think of yourself every now and then, instead of other people. You always put everyone else first, and it's time you realized that there's nothing wrong with being a little selfish every now and then. Anyway, I know your lover has extended her invitation to you, I won't try to talk you out of it, but I will also say that I came here to tell you that Mei is awake."

"She is? Thank goodness."

"And she's asking for you."

"For me? How did she know I was here?"

"She doesn't," Tracer replied. "We didn't feel it necessary to tell her what happened. It'd only stress her out more. But it doesn't change the fact that she's asking for you. So you've a choice to make. I'll leave you to it." She gave a weak smile and a friendly salute before zipping away to who knows where.

Now Dan could truly feel the weight of the crossroads he'd arrived at. When he heard about Mei, he was so quick to drop everything and come running back. Would he do that for Hana if the opportunity arose?

He struggled, but in the end he found himself walking back to the med bay. As he entered, her found Mei, now in her tank top, tenderly rubbing the spot where Mercy had jabbed the needle. "You're going to want to put ice on that," he advised, causing her to look up at him, her eyes sparkling.

"Dan! What are you doing here? I thought you were in South Korea."

"Yeah, well...when they told me you'd collapsed, I came running. How are you feeling?"

"Other than a sore chest, I feel fine. I'm really glad you're here though, I've been wanting to talk to you. When we were talking on the phone, I realized something important and on the risk that something goes wrong, I don't want the last thing I told you to be that I didn't want you as my assistant."

Moving to her side, he sat in a chair beside her. "Hey, don't talk like that. Everything is fixed. You're going to be alive for a lot longer."

She shook her head. "You don't know that, Dan. Talons attacked us numerous times. The lives we lead are not safe ones, you know this." Her hand reached out to rest on his, causing their eyes to meet. "I...I've missed you, Dan. I've missed you a lot," she whispered. "I pushed you away, because I thought it would hurt less and you'd be better off that way, but…I missed you."

"I've missed you, too," he choked. "I'm trying really hard to be a better person for you, Mei. I learned to shoot a gun, I even killed people...I have a girlfriend now and…"

Her hand squeezed his gently, cutting him off with a soft smile. "Dan, you don't have to be better for me," she assured him. "I like you just how you are. The sweet lab assistant who brought me out of the ice; the pacifistic, gun-shy, spontaneous bèndàn that I first met...that's the Dan I like."

"I'll be honest, I thought you didn't want to have anything to do with me," he admitted bashfully. "I know I must have surprised you by just blurting out that I love you, but...if I'd known that it'd make you push me away, I would have rather just kept my mouth shut."

"Actually, I'm glad that you said something," she murmured shyly.

"You are?" Dan was genuinely surprised. He hadn't expected to hear her say something like that. "I mean...I just kind of assumed…"

"Don't get me wrong, Dan," she quickly interrupted. "I was being honest when I said that I don't feel the same way for you."

"I...I know…" he stammered, trying to save face. "I mean, I wasn't expecting you to be in love with me, and I'm sorry I made things so weird between us."

"Dan…"

"Yes?"

Her face was very solemn as she began to tear up. "I'm really sorry," she whimpered. "I know I have no right to ask this of you, and if you say no, I promise I'll understand...but I really do miss you. I can't say that I return your feelings, or that I ever will...but I don't want you to stop being my friend. I want you to be my lab assistant again."

Dan was completely stunned by her sudden outburst. A tinge of guilt ran through him. He'd made the same mistake she did, he never realized that maybe he should have been the one to reach out to her. "Please don't cry, Mei. Of course I'll be your assistant. I didn't first volunteer because I loved you. I volunteered because...well, you're Mei Ling Zhou! You're the only woman to have survived cryostasis, ever. You're a master explorer and a brilliant scientist and people all over the world have read your journal and dreamed of being you. To be perfectly honest, I really miss you too."

She smiled shyly. "I appreciate the compliments Dan, but I'm really not all that. I'm just a nerdy girl who likes the weather."

"Sure and Winston is just an ape who likes science."

She giggled. "Okay, you have me there. Either way, it's good to see you again. I'm sorry you had to leave your girlfriend behind to visit me."

"Hmm? I didn't leave her behind. Hana's here with me. It's been a long day for us so she's resting right now."

"Oh, I see," Mei mused. "So tell me about her. I want to hear everything. How did you two meet? What was it like?"

Dan blushed as he scratched the back of his head. "Well, it all happened really fast," he admitted. "She's really clever and likes to tease me. We first met because, as you know, I was sent to observe her. We were attacked by Talon and I ended up in the hospital." Noticing her look of concern, he quickly added, "All minor injuries. Just scrapes really. It was amazing watching her fight though. She just climbed into this crazy robot and started blasting away at the bad guys. It was like some sort of action cartoon. Anyway, I woke up to her sitting in my lap in the hospital. She was making sure I didn't get up, or so she claims. After that, she told the reporters I was her boyfriend and we spent most of the day going to arcades and stuff."

"It sounds like a wonderful start," Mei grinned. "I'd love to meet her some time."

"Well, she'll be staying here for a bit I imagine. I don't think Winston intends to ship us back to Korea any time soon. Maybe I'll introduce you some time."

"I'd like that."

The two shared a smile before Dan cleared his throat and stood. "Well, you're probably pretty tired after that operation. I'll let you get some rest, okay? Seriously though Mei, I don't hate you. I'd never be able to bring myself to hate someone as amazing as you. Once you're up for work again, you know how to contact me, right? I'll be there whenever you call for me."

As he went to leave, her hand tightened on his causing him to look back at her inquisitively. "Dan, I just wanted say...it's nice to have you back from Korea." Releasing him, her hand drew back to her side as he beamed at her.

"It's good to be back."

Once Dan left, Mei let out the breath she'd been holding in. Her chest really did hurt from Mercy's injection, and following Dan's advice, she walked to the freezer carefully to make herself an ice pack.

Placing it on the side of her breast, she shuddered, returning to her bed just as Tracer entered the room. "Did Dan talk to you?" she asked, rather directly.

"Feel fine, thanks," Mei teased before wincing. Even talking to Dan had stung, but she put on a brave face anyway. She didn't want to worry him. "Yes, he came and spoke to me. It was a good conversation."

"Did you tell him?"

"Tell him?"

"That finding out about his girlfriend caused you to have a panic attack and that triggered your condition, obviously."

Mei frowned. "Why on Earth would I tell him that? It'd just upset him and he'd blame himself. I couldn't put that pressure on Dan. We had a talk about us and then I asked him to tell me about Hana."

"Did you tell him how you feel about him?"

"If you mean that I missed him greatly, then yes. I did tell him such. I even asked him to be my assistant again." A soft smile crept onto Mei's face. "I'm really glad he agreed. I was so worried he'd tell me to screw off."

"I refuse to believe that you're as oblivious as he is. Mei, why won't you just admit that you have feelings for Dan? To yourself if not to him. It's easy to see it, honest."

The smile quickly vanished as Mei glared at Tracer. "We've been over this, _Lena_. I don't have feelings for Dan."

"People don't get panic attacks when they find out that people they don't have feelings for are in a relationship. That's strictly a 'feelings' effect."

"I don't have feelings for him," she repeated. "Besides, even if I did, I wouldn't want to ruin our friendship. He's my assistant. It's better this way."

"You're as bad as he is," Tracer grumbled. "Can't either of you stop thinking about the other just long enough to realize that you're both over complicating the matter? If you want to be happy, the only way to do so is to just do what will make you happy! It's not hard!"

"Really? It seems like you're awfully concerned for only one party's happiness in all this," Mei pointed out. "Why is it so hard to believe that there's nothing between Dan and I? You haven't stopped trying to hook us up since the whole incident occurred. Personally, I think you just pity him and you don't want to do something as extreme as going on a pity date with him, so you want me to do it instead, and I refuse to do that to Dan. If you were really his friend, you would too."

Fire erupted in Tracer's eyes as she swiftly zipped to Mei's side, her face just a breath from hers. For the first time since she'd woken from the ice, Mei could see absolute rage in her friend's face. "You have crossed a line, Mei," she hissed. "I'm willing to let it go, but let's set some facts straight. I told Dan from the get go not to assist you. I told him to keep what he had to himself because, to be perfectly honest, I knew you'd hurt him. Dan is my friend and I am _very_ protective of him. Just like I thought, you _did_ hurt him. You broke his heart and you're lucky that I'm forgiving you for that. I watched you spiral into depression in less than a week after having kicked him aside for nothing more than having feelings for you. I listened to you formulate some grand conspiracy theory from a thirty seconds news clip because he found a _girlfriend_. When we called Dan, you nearly had a heart attack because he tore your theory to shreds. All it took was the mere mention that you missed your window to send you into a panic attack, and do you know what happened? We called Dan and he flew his ass back here as fast as he could to save your life. It wasn't Mercy who operated on you, it was Dan. He blatantly spat in the face of his 'girlfriend' to save you." Mei could feel her heart racing, doing little to help the pain in her chest as she held the ice pack tightly against her. Despite herself, the last thing Tracer added caused a smile to creep onto her lips. "Don't start patting yourself on the back," she snapped. "You don't get the right to do that after what you've accused me of. You don't really care about Dan's happiness, or if you do, you are for some reason convinced that he's not happy with Hana."

"I…" she began to protest but Tracer interrupted her.

"The only way you can be convinced of that is that you're convinced he'd be happier with you. Well, tough tits, you may have very well missed your shot with him. If you ever want to ensure that you don't find yourself years down the line full of regrets, you will find Dan and you will tell him _exactly_ how you feel. No more games, no more bollocks. I look up to you, Mei. I respect you and you're an inspiration. You're a hero in my book. So I suggest you take a good long hard look at yourself and your feelings and when you can look yourself in the eyes and say that you have no feelings for Dan what-so-ever, then I'll get off your case. But don't you ever mistake my friendship for pity again." With another zip, Tracer now stood at the doorway to the medbay, her eyes still shooting daggers at the climatologist. "Feel better soon."

"Wait," Mei called, making her pause. "Why haven't you told Dan all of this?"

The pilot took an exasperated breath, running her hand through her hair. "If you truly don't know the answer to that question, then maybe you really don't have feelings for him. Figure it out for yourself."

And with that, Mei found herself all alone again. Drawing her legs up to herself she closed her eyes tightly, trying to fight back the tears that had again begun to form. Right now, part of her wished that she'd never been pulled out of the ice.

* * *

Hana had just climbed out of the shower and was drying herself when she heard the door open. "Hello?"

"Just me," Dan called back.

"Where have you been?" she asked, wrapping her towel around herself and emerging from the steamy bathroom. "I thought you would have joined me. Did something come up?"

"Nothing too important. Mei woke up and she asked for me."

"Mmhm...so you went to see her instead of spending time with me?" she teased. "One may think you've still got feelings for her."

"Even if that was the case, far be it from me to turn down the summons of a woman who very nearly died today."

"So what did she want? Did she thank you for saving her?"

"No, she doesn't know that it was me. She apologized for having ignored me last week and she asked me to be her assistant again."

"What did you say?" Hana asked, moving to sit beside him on the bed. The towel was short, barely covering her breasts and when she sat down, it parted to reveal her silky thighs. Catching Dan's gaze, she grinned, leaning against him coyly.

"I said 'yes', of course," he replied, mirroring her movements.

Hana frowned, pulling away from him. "Oh."

"What? What's wrong?"

"I thought you were going to be my assistant," she muttered, leaning back provocatively. "I mean, you are my boyfriend, I just figured…" she let the words trail off, watching his reaction intently.

Dan found himself having to reign in his impulses before clearing his throat, "Well, I mean...I could do both. What would I even assist you with anyway? You have a near infinite amount of mechs at your disposal."

"I could think of a few things," she purred, tugging on his shirt to pull him towards her. "I mean, sometimes I just get this awful itch, and I can't ever seem to make it go away." As Hana pulled him to kiss her lips, she let out a soft sigh, holding him there easily.

Perhaps her concerns were unfounded. She doubted that Dan would be the type to betray her, but at the same time, she didn't get where she was by letting people do what she expected them to. She had to make him stay.

Tugging on his hair, she pulled his lips to her throat. She moaned in his ear, pressing her hips against his in an attempt to excite him further. The feeling of his body on top of hers was one that she enjoyed.

Just as she was about to remove her towel and really get things heated up, a knock came at the door. "Dan?" Mercy's feminine voice called. "Are you there?"

He stopped immediately, causing Hana to shoot him a pleading look. He silently mouthed her an apology. "Yes?" Dan called back.

"S-sorry to intrude! I just wanted to talk to you about the operation if you don't mind."

"Just stay here," Hana whispered. "You can talk to her tomorrow."

"I'm really sorry, this is important." Standing up, he straightened his clothes and walked to the door, leaving Hana completely stunned. Biting her lip, she watched him leave the room.

"God damn it," she growled under her breath.

Shutting the door carefully behind him, Dan smiled softly at the doctor. She gestured with her arm to take a walk with her, and when he moved to her side she wrapped an arm around his shoulder. "You did great work today," she complimented with a smile.

"Thank you, Doctor. I really appreciate that."

"I have to give credit where credit is due."

"But...I should never talk to you like that again. That's what you were going to say, right?"

She looked at him puzzled, pausing for a moment. "What are you talking about Dan?"

His head bowed low. "I disrespected you," he murmured. "You're my mentor and I...I insulted you by saying you didn't know what you were doing. I...I should trust your instruction, and I didn't."

Mercy contemplated his words for a moment, again wrapping an arm around him to guide him further down the path. "May I ask you a question, Dan?"

"Of course," he answered.

"Have I been a good teacher to you? I don't choose to mentor others very often, or those I do are doctors within their own merit. Often, people simply watch me and then repeat what I do. They don't ever question my judgment or ask me about alternatives. They just do what I do."

"You've been a great teacher!" Dan quickly replied. "I've learned so much working under you, Doctor! I'm sorry I was so disrespectful, it won't happen again. I wouldn't dare insult you."

"Calm down, Dan," she urged him, the smile returning to her lips. "Like I told you, you did great work today. I only asked because I was concerned that you may resent me."

He was completely floored. "Resent you? No ma'am, never! I respect you greatly, more than I could ever hope to describe. You can ask Winston and Tracer! They'll tell you that I always get excited to see you when you visit. I love learning from you!" She smiled even brighter, but behind it, Dan could see a dimness in her eyes. "But...something is still bothering you," he muttered.

"You're getting better at reading people," she sighed. "You were right Dan. There were no anchors in her heart. Had I stepped in and commanded you to return the controls to Hana, it was entirely possible that Mei could have died. It would have been my fault, too."

"But she didn't!" he protested.

"Dan, I know you're trying to make me feel better, but the truth is I made a mistake. I let my pride take over me and it nearly cost a member of Overwatch their life. You saved Mei, Dan...in more ways than one. You saved her from me, too. That's why...I'm leaving Overwatch once and for all."

"No!" he shouted. "You can't leave!"

"I've already made my decision, Dan. I joined Overwatch because I felt I could do more good in it, even though I despise war and violence. But now, the organization has fallen to disrepair. There is no good I can do here anymore, and you were the one who has shown me that. Thank you."

"So you made a mistake! We all make mistakes! Think of all the times I messed up trying to help Mei, only for you to fix it."

"Dan…"

"I've fixed mistakes Wilson has made too! And Mei, and Tracer and Jesse! That's my job! My job is to give everyone's work a second look and help them when they need it. Please…" he sobbed, throwing his arms around her causing her to run rigid before gently ruffling his hair. "Please, Mercy, you can't leave us! I don't like war either, but I believe in what Winston is trying to do. They don't have to go to war. You don't have to leave, you can still help them."

"I know I'm not much older than you, Dan...but I've always seen you like a son to me. I think that's the problem. I've been treating you as a child and the truth is you're an adult. I've lectured you like a kid for so long, when I saw you take charge today it struck me as a realization. You don't need me anymore, Dan. You've learned enough from me that I have nothing to teach you."

Dan's eyes began to water as he shook his head fervently. "Don't say that, please. You can still teach me! Even if you can't, that's okay! You don't have to stay just for my sake! Everyone else would miss you, too. Please, you can't leave."

Watching him cry broke Mercy's heart as she embraced him tightly to her. "I tell you what," she whispered. "I'm leaving...there's nothing you can do to stop that. But, if ever Overwatch needs help, I will, under one condition... _you_ have to be the one who asks. Only you, Dan. Not Winston, not Tracer, you. If you ask for me, I'll come running."

"I don't want to lose you," he whimpered.

"You're not losing me," she assured him. "I'm just...going home. Overwatch was never where I belonged, but I stayed anyway. For a while, it was for all the people I could help. When it was restored, it was because of you and Winston...but you don't need me anymore Dan. You're your own man now, and I want to respect that. Mei is your patient now, understand? I am giving you the task of seeing to her. Don't let her overwork herself or get sick, because she is now your responsibility."

Tears were streaming down his face now. Leaning closer, Angela placed a kiss on his forehead. "I don't want you to leave," he repeated, clinging to her tightly. "Is this because of how I acted? I wasn't trying to push you away, I was just trying to show that I was worth something. Please don't leave me because of that."

"But you were right, Dan! You were right and I was wrong. For too long Dan, we've... _I've_ treated you like a child. You've shown me that you deserve better than that Dan, and before you say another word, you _do_ deserve better than that. You deserve to be seen as an equal, not as an underling. As far as I'm concerned, you're every bit as qualified to be a part of Overwatch as any of us are."

Dan's eyes fell to his feet as she released him and stepped away from him. "I'm sorry about how I acted," he tried, but she just sighed.

"Dan, this isn't a punishment. This is something that should have happened a long time ago. Take care of yourself, okay?" Without anything else to say, she turned from him and walked away.

In a daze, Dan follow suit, returning to sink back onto the cot, completely stunned. Hana smiled at his return, wrapping her arms around him. "Finally," she huffed, nuzzling against him. "Now we can get back to the fun part."

He however, quickly took her wrists and gently pulled away from her. "Please don't touch me," he whispered, moving to a different cot. "I just...I need to be alone right now. I'm going to get some sleep. Good night, Hana." Rolling over away from her, Hana let out an irritated huff.

She'd have to put her plan back into action tomorrow morning.

To be continued...


	9. Chapter 9

Enraptured in Ice Ch. 9

 **AN: Hey everyone. Sorry it's been so long since I've updated. Just a heads up, I may be taking a break from fanfiction for a few weeks. I've been busy writing up query letters to agents and I'm hoping to get one of my novels published, as well as working on some new ones. I really appreciate all the feedback I've been getting from you guys, and I actually am in desperate need for some critiques for my new novel in progress: Behemoth, if you guys are interested. Add me on Skype: Kiba Vulpus Elunal or private message me with your email. Sorry again it's been so long. -Kiba**

The next morning, Tracer came in to find Mei humming cheerfully to herself as she continued to dust and clean her lab. The oddly cheerful nature she was displaying was a welcomed change of pace, but still it perplexed her. "Good morning, Mei. You seem in good spirits," she noted.

"Hmm? Oh, hello Tracer! I didn't even hear you come in. I was just getting the lab ready so Dan and I could get back to work today. I hate to admit it, but I've been slacking off some lately."

Tracer nodded her head slowly. So that explained her behavior. "I don't mean to rain on your parade, but don't be shocked if Dan doesn't seem too pleased."

"What do you mean?" Mei suddenly asked. "He didn't change his mind did he? Did I do something to upset him?"

Noting the panic in her eyes, Tracer immediately went to calm her down. "No, no. Just...relax, okay? You're going to put more strain on your heart. Mercy apparently left this morning. She told me that Dan may be a bit upset so that I should keep an eye on him. That's actually why I'm here."

"Dr. Ziegler left?" she asked in surprise. "Why would she do that?"

"She feels like Dan is an adult now. Truth be told, she's never been a large fan of Overwatch. I suspect she stayed as long as she did in Gibraltar because she was worried about him. Either way though," she sighed, "just thought I'd let you know."

As she went to leave, Mei called after her. "Wait." When Tracer turned back around, Mei's head was angled towards the floor. "I'm...really sorry about what I said yesterday. I know you aren't friends with Dan out of pity...I just...I don't want you to keep pressuring me into something that I don't want."

Tracer walked back beside her to sit on the counter. "I know," she admitted, "and I forgive you. I didn't behave my best, either. I'm sorry I keep pushing this on you, Mei. I still think you have feelings for Dan, but I promise I'll..." Her words were interrupted when the door opened, revealing the slightly disheveled figure of Dan.

"Good morning," Mei called cheerfully, hoping it would cause him to brighten.

"Morning," he grumbled back. He hadn't slept much last night. Hana kept trying to convince him to talk to her, and even when he did manage to get her off of his back, he still couldn't fall asleep. He just kept wondering if there was a better way for him to have handled the situation yesterday that would have made Mercy stay. Now he hoped that throwing himself into work would get his mind off of everything.

"Well," Tracer coughed, "I should go do...that thing...elsewhere." Swinging off of the table she assuredly pat Dan's shoulder on her way past. At that point, Dan was so out of it, her suspicious excuse didn't even register in his mind.

"So, what first?" he asked, walking to Mei's side.

She frowned, taking in his appearance. Her heart went out to him as she tried to figure out how to snap him out of it. "Well," she replied, stretching her arms in a fake yawn, "I'm still a little sleepy. How about we get some coffee?" Truthfully, she didn't feel like she needed it, but she hoped that it would give Dan a bit more pep.

"Sure," Dan answered, grabbing a scrap piece of paper and clicking the pen. "How would you like it?"

Mei froze. He was just going to run and get her coffee? That wouldn't work. Hesitantly, she said, "I meant more we could get some...together." His head raised slightly to regard her, but still he didn't reply, simply placing the pen on the paper.

"Where did you have in mind?"

"What would you suggest?"

"There's a nice cafe just in town: Sacarello's. I know Winston's isn't exceptionally great, but shouldn't we get back to work? I mean, we've both been away from it for a while and…"

"I don't think the climate will mind. It's been around for billions of years, another hour won't kill it." Her joke made Dan smile slightly, allowing her a slight victory. "Besides, it's been awhile since we've just sat and talked. It'll be nice chatting again."

"I suppose that's true," Dan agreed. With that, the two of them left the base and made their way towards the cafe. After finding a seat and ordering their drinks, the two of them sat in awkward silence.

Mei drummed her fingers on the side of her coffee cup, not sure where to start. She had to admit, this wasn't how she'd hoped it would go. Still, after everything that had happened she felt like she needed to help Dan get back on his feet. "So I heard about Mercy," she started nervously. "I know that must be hard for you. You two were really close, right?"

"Pass," Dan stated.

"You know Dan, if it's hurting you, it may help to talk about it," Mei suggested politely.

"Is that what you do?"

Mei fell silent quickly. He had her there. "All right then, let's talk about something else. How are things going with Hana?"

"Pass," he sighed.

She bit her lip in worried frustration. "Dan, you have to talk about something," she urged. "I know that I'm not great at talking through my feelings, but trust me that's much worse than just letting it go. I'm your friend and I want to help you, but…"

"I don't trust you," he interrupted. "I...I don't really trust anyone. I don't know who to trust anymore, because the only one I felt like I could trust just walked out of my life and told me I'm on my own now."

"You don't trust...me?" she whispered in shock. "Why?"

"You shoved me away for an entire week. I know my confession was sudden, and I expected a rejection, but that doesn't change that you hurt me, Mei. It stung me that you didn't want to spend time with me anymore."

As the waiter set down their cups, Mei tried hard not to let him see the hurt in her eyes by staring down into the dark brown liquid. "I understand Dan, and you're right, I was wrong to push you away. But that doesn't mean you can't trust me...I've always had your best interest at heart."

"Sorry if I find that hard to believe," he chided. "Lately it seems no one has had my best interest at heart except for me. Tracer tried to twist my arm to make me learn to shoot, McCree lied to me about putting stun bullets in my gun, Hana…" his words trailed off. "It's fine," he finally continued. "I get it now. I know what I'm supposed to learn. At the end of the day, I'm the only one who can look out for me. No one else will."

Slowly, Mei's hand reached across the table to come to a rest on Dan's, causing him to look up suddenly. "Dan, that's not true. Everyone is looking out for you. You don't see it, but everyone is worried about you, Dan. We all look out for you. We just want what's best for you."

He tugged his hand away quickly, his eyes flashing with anger as he tried to control himself. "What's best for me? I had to fight against everyone just to save _your_ life. That's right, it wasn't Mercy who performed the operation, it was me. They shoved me into a position where your life hanged on my skill, and you know what happened? Because everyone thought they knew what was best, I choked and you nearly died _again._ Well, I met someone who taught me more than anyone in Overwatch has since I started here: if I want something done, I have to stop letting other people tell me what to do. If people don't want to listen to me, I have to make them listen, so I did. I went back in there and I took charge of the operation and I saved you when they couldn't. Do you know what I got for it? I got a reaming from my girlfriend, I got scolded by my best friend, and my mentor abandoned me, and they decided to keep it a secret that I helped at all. So tell me again who the hell has my best interest at heart?!"

"I still do," she whispered, but he just rolled his eyes and stood to leave. Her arm shot out and grabbed him, pulling him back to the table to sit down. "Dan, I know I haven't been the most trustworthy person, but I'm trying. None of us are perfect, and even if we're screwing up sometimes, we're trying to help. Honest."

"I don't believe you."

Now Mei was starting to get angry. "For the two weeks you were gone, it was hell," she stated. "I tried to push you away because I thought it'd be easier for you to get a clean break rather than having to see me and remember that rejection every single day. When I saw that news report about you and Hana, I was certain she was manipulating you, so I called you, but you ignored me. I don't blame you for that. If someone refused to speak to me for two weeks and they called me out of the blue, I'd probably assume it was an accident just like you did. When we managed to get ahold of you and I found out you were dating Hana, do you know what happened? Somewhere in my mind, I realized that I messed up. You didn't need space, you needed reassurance and that was on me and I can't take that back." Tears began to form in her eyes now as she leaned over her coffee. "I hurt you, Dan. I know that. I never wanted or meant to hurt you. But I did, and when I realized that, I ran outside and I had a panic attack. I knew you saved me…"

"But…"

"Tracer told me because she was trying to give me advice the same way I'm giving you advice, but I was stupid and I didn't listen to her. I nearly lost her and you as friends and I wish that I could take back everything. I can't speak for the others, but I care Dan. I care so much that I made myself sick and forced you into a spot that only served to hurt you again. This," she indicated the cafe with her finger, "this is me trying to make it right by you, Dan. I didn't ask you back as my assistant for myself, I did it because I appreciate you. I'm doing it because even though I can't take back pushing you away, I'm hoping I can make it better by pulling you back. I asked you to come with me because I wanted to help _you_. I don't even _like_ coffee that much, but I'm here for you…" she took deep breaths before stopping. "But...maybe I am being selfish, Dan. You have a wonderful heart. You're warm and caring and I can see in your eyes that everything you do you try to do for the good of the world. The last thing I want to see is your heart turn to ice. I'm trying to stop that from happening, but maybe I'm doing it because it's what I want, and not what you want."

"I'm still in love with you," he finally muttered under his breath. "We both know it, and I know I'm risking everything by telling you again, but it's true. I feel torn, confused, betrayed...I'm with Hana and I love her too, but...I don't know what to do. I need someone to tell me what to do and the fact that I need that hurts me to no end. I know everyone in Overwatch sees me as a child. I get it. If I were them, I'd see me as a child too. I don't want to be a child, though. I want to be a member of Overwatch and I want to be respected, not looked after. I have to sort these things out myself, Mei, and I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings, but right now I can't afford to let anyone sway me. Not even you."

Silence draped over their conversation, leaving an unsettling discomfort between them. Mei had to admit, even to herself, she wasn't sure what she could do to help Dan anymore. In her heart, she could feel for him, and when he told her he loved her again, it didn't bring back the same panic as it did the first time. Now it brought a feeling of relief that she hadn't expected. Was Tracer right? Did she love Dan? "I understand," she said finally, breaking the silence. A soft smile crept on her lips. "You're right, Dan. You're the one who knows what's best for you, not anyone else. Even still," her smile grew bigger as she reached out to playfully tap his nose with her finger. "I'm here for you Dan. I want to help in whatever way I can, but from now on I'll wait for you to ask for it, okay? Just tell me what I can do for you and it's yours."

"Why are you being like this?" he breathed.

She pondered it for a moment before replying. "Do you know what it's like growing up as a girl in China, Dan?" He shook his head. "Due to overpopulation, the law states that except for in special cases, parents may only have one child. Since a family name is passed down through the male, most girls are killed upon birth. To be honest, I was lucky to even be born. I was a teenager when the Omnec War broke out. I'd already left my home behind because, frankly, it always felt like I was unwanted. Even now, part of me wonders if I'm alive because my family actually wanted me, or if they just couldn't bring themselves to suffocate me in the crib." Running her finger around the rim of the porcelain, she let it sink in for a moment. "Whatever the case, I was given an opportunity Dan, and I wanted to make the best of it. The unexplored life is not worth living, right?"

"Unexamined," he corrected.

"What?"

"The quote. It's Socrates. The unexamined life is not worth living."

Mei turned a bright red as she covered her face with her hands. "My entire life I've been going by a philosophy and I didn't even have it right? I'm such a ditz."

Dan struggled not to laugh. "It doesn't matter, Mei."

"It does!"

"So do you really think that everything you've done up until this point, every achievement you've gained, all no longer means anything because you misquoted a philosopher from the earliest periods of history?"

"I suppose you have a point, but you're distracting me. The point is, I've been exploring my life all over the world. I didn't want to just be a shame in my father's eyes. I wanted to find something really beautiful. I was looking for a really long time. I joined Overwatch because I hoped they'd show me something beautiful. That didn't work so well. I've seen your heart Dan, and I can honestly say it's one of the most beautiful things in the world."

"Now you're just messing with me," he protested.

"I'm not. It's absolutely true. Very few people have a pure heart, Dan. Not wanting to kill, that's a good trait to have. Rest assured, I've never taken joy when I've had to take a life."

A twinge of guilt ran through Dan. He knew well enough that he wasn't pure of heart. If he had been, Hana wouldn't fluster him so much. He wouldn't still be in love with Mei while he was supposed to be in love with his girlfriend. "Look, Mei…"

"I'm serious Dan."

"I know but, I'm not like you think I am, okay? I'm not some miraculous guy who has the best of intentions at all times. I'm not. The thing that caused me the most stress while I was trying to operate, other than having Mercy and Hana breathing down my neck, was that I couldn't stop myself from looking at your breasts."

Mei's cheeks burned a bright red as she unconsciously attempted to cover herself. "Oh...I'm sorry you had to see them," she murmured. "I know it must have bothered you."

"Sorry? Why?"

"Don't play dumb, Dan. If you're going to be forward, be forward. I know I'm fat. Believe me, I try to lose weight, but…"

"Are we really having this conversation?" he asked. "Mei, I don't think you're fat. It had nothing to do with you, okay? It was because of me. I couldn't keep my mind clear. You know, can we just pretend that I didn't say any of this stuff. Just…you'll just have to take my word on that I'm not a pure of heart guy, okay? I'm really not. If anyone is, that's you."

"Have you ever spied on me in the shower?"

"What? WHat kind of question is that?! No, I haven't."

"Have you ever wanted to?"

"Mei, I'm not sure what point you're getting at here."

"My point is Dan, no one's perfect. Everyone has dirty thoughts sometimes. Even me."

"Really?" he asked skeptically.

"Oh yes, very much so. It's perfectly natural. Did your parents not ever have this talk with you?"

"I grew up in a very sheltered family," he explained shyly, scratching his cheek. "Truth be told until recently, I'd never even seen a woman topless before."

"I was your first?" she asked.

"No, second."

Silence spread across the two of them as Mei's eyes opened in realization. "Hana? Already?"

"Is...is it that strange?"

"It's a bit fast in my personal opinion, but you said so yourself, Dan. You're an adult, you're allowed to make your own choices." Mei considered it for a moment before asking, "Do you think it's too fast?"

"I'll admit, it was a little uncomfortable…" he murmured.

"Then tell her," she assured him with a grin. "I may not have had much time for boyfriends, but I can say that if you're in a relationship, you should both be comfortable. If she is moving too fast, ask her to slow it down a bit."

"Won't she be mad?"

"If she really cares, Dan, she'll understand."

"Oh...well thanks," he replied sheepishly. "I'm sorry. We were having a perfectly normal conversation and I made it weird. Your advice helps a lot though, so I appreciate it."

"No problem." Sipping her coffee, Dan seemed much more relaxed than when they'd first come here. Mei was glad she could help. Something in the back of her mind was nagging at her though, and she couldn't quite put her finger on it. "Anyway Dan, I forgive you for looking at my breasts. You were doing a medical procedure, so it wasn't like you were peeping."

"Oh...thank you."

"Come on. Are you ready to get back to work?"

He thought about it for a moment before asking, "Would you mind if I took just one more day off? I have a lot of stuff I want to sort through if it's all the same."

"Sure, Dan. Take all the time you need."

When they returned to Watchpoint, they parted ways, with Mei heading back to her lab and Dan going to seek out Hana, wherever she was. Checking the barracks to find them empty, he peered around the corner to see that MEKA was parked just outside. Odd considering no one was piloting it. "Hana?" he called out.

"Up here," she shouted back from the roof of the barracks. Dan was surprised. What was she doing up there?

Grabbing hold of the maintenance ladder, he clambered to the top of the building to find her stretched out in the sun, a pair of sunglasses on wearing nothing but a bikini. "Tanning?" he asked.

"It's better than the artificial stuff," she replied before rolling on to her stomach to peer over her glasses at him. "I missed you this morning. Where were you?"

"Grabbing coffee with Mei," he answered, causing her to frown. "What?"

"Nothing," she replied shoving the glasses further on to her face. "If you want to get coffee with another girl instead of your girlfriend, I see no problems with that."

"It's not like that," he protested. "I was just really tired because I couldn't sleep so she wanted to get coffee to help wake me up."

"That's strange, I slept like a baby," she shot back, her words pointed like daggers. "Don't you have work to be doing or something?"

"I asked Mei to give me the day off. I wanted to talk to you."

She scoffed. "You get coffee with another girl and wanted to talk to me? Maybe you should have taken me for coffee then."

He sighed. This was hopeless it was like talking to a brick wall with her. "Hana, I promise you, there is nothing going on between Mei and I. You were asleep, I went to work. We got coffee, that's it."

Hana looked up at him before patting the spot next to her. "If you're going to stay here and make excuses at least lay down so you aren't blocking the sun," she instructed.

He did as she asked, laying down beside her. "Listen, Hana…"

"I'm done discussing it Dan, let it go."

"No, not that. This is important." She turned to regard him, again lowering her shades slightly. "I really like you Hana, I do. But...I f-feel like we're m-m-moving a little f-fast," he stammered nervously.

"Funny you didn't seem to mind the other night," she pointed out. "Where is this coming from?"

"Nowhere, just...I mean, we've only been dating for a few days. Let's just start with handholding and kissing for now."

Hana pondered it for a moment before nodding. "Okay, sure."

"R-really?"

"Sure. I'm not going to rape you, Dan."

"I just figured you'd be mad," he admitted sheepishly.

"Nope. Could you do me a favor though? My back needs more lotion and I can't reach. I will say that is technically one of your boyfriendly duties, you know?"

"Yeah, no problem," he answered, grabbing the bottle. As he turned back around, Hana reached behind her to untie the back of her bikini, shrugging it off her shoulders and waiting for him to turn back around. "Umm...Hana?"

"I don't want to get tan lines," she explained. "Relax, we're not having sex or anything. You're just rubbing it into my back." Glancing at him over her shoulder, she added, "You're not going to say you don't want to touch me at all, are you?"

"N-no, of course not," he replied, putting the oil in his hands. As he began to rub her back she let out a content purr, resting her chin on her arms lazily.

"Your hands are soft," she commented.

"Are they?"

"Mmhm. Would you mind giving me a massage?"

"Oh...sure." He hesitated for a moment, unsure where to start as she slowly kicked her legs. He straddled her back, starting from her shoulders and caressing the muscles of her neck. With the oil already applied, he could feel the smoothness of her glistening skin beneath his fingers. "Like this?"

"Mmmm yes…" she moaned softly. She didn't know who'd planted the ideas in his head about not wanting sex. She was certain before that she had him wrapped around her finger, but Mercy leaving had thrown a slight hitch in the plan. Now, however, she seemed to have another rival to contend with. That was okay. Hana knew exactly which buttons to press and when.

Pressing his thumbs on either side of her spine he would drag his hands up and down her back, using his entire body to push into her muscles to loosen them. Hana had to admit, she was actually impressed by his tenacity. He was a people pleaser, through and through, which meant that as long as he was hers, she was as good as in Overwatch.

Now hovering over her legs, his hands went lower and lower, and she knew it was only time before her moment to strike. She'd wiggle her hips and giggle that he was tickling her, and when he apologized, she'd turn over and give him a kiss. He'd never be able to resist.

Just as they would have reached though, he paused before pulling his hands away from her. "Don't stop," she pleaded cutely, but he just leaned forward and kissed her cheek.

"It's okay, I'm going to let you tan in peace, okay?"

"You...you don't have to…" she murmured, a feeling of dread coming over her. She couldn't believe herself. What was she so scared of? As he stood to leave, she sat up. "Dan?"

"Yes?" he asked, turning around to see that she was topless. He quickly averted his eyes apologetically. "Sorry."

"It's okay," she replied, using one arm to cover herself. "I just wanted to say, I love you."

Dan's heart skipped a beat, his cheeks becoming flushed. "Where is this coming from?"

"I...I don't want you to leave," she whispered shyly. "I like being around you. Please, stay? I'm sorry I pressured into sex, I swear I won't do it again, just...please stay here with me."

He smiled softly, going to lay beside her again. "Okay, I'll stay," he promised. "You don't have to worry about me, Hana. I'm not going to leave you."

She slid closer to him, pressing her lips against his affectionately. What was this feeling she had? She could have just gone with him, she knew, but for some reason it was important to her that _he_ was the one who stayed with her, not the other way around.

When they parted, she wrapped her arms around him, snuggling into his chest and enjoying his touch as he embraced her too. "Hana?"

"Yes?"

"I love you, too."

A wave of heat ran through her body as she froze there. When she'd said it, it had been a bait to try to get him to stay, but his words sounded so genuine. _No way,_ she thought. _It's only been two days. He couldn't possibly be in love with me already._ Looking up into his eyes, she was stunned to see the honesty in them. Unsure of how to respond, she just tightened her hold on him more, clinging to him in the summer sun.

Mei hummed to herself as she returned to her lab where Tracer was waiting. "How was that thing that you had to do elsewhere?" she teased, causing her to frown.

"Where were you?"

"With Dan. We went to a cafe in town to talk. I think it went well. He really opened up. I even gave him some advice to help his relationship with Hana."

"You...did?" she asked skeptically.

"Yes, why?"

Tracer scratched her head in confusion. "Well, I figured you'd realize that that's a very dangerous and risky move."

"How so?"

"Well...working on my assumption that you do have feelings for Dan…" Just as Mei opened her mouth to protest, Tracer held up her hand. "Skip it. Just hypothetically, you'd be improving his relationship with her. If it strengthens, there's a chance you just shot yourself in the foot. He may lose his feelings for you completely and give them all to her."

Mei was stunned. She hadn't even realized that possibility. She didn't _think_ she was interested in Dan, but she had to admit, even to herself, she secretly enjoyed that he was interested in her. She wasn't subconsciously trying to push Dan away and on to Hana was she? "But...he asked me for advice. I can't just lie to him, can I? Am I supposed to give him bad advice to break them up?...Assuming hypothetically that I have a slight interest in Dan."

"Interesting logic," her friend commented. "But there is another problem with that, moral hang-ups aside. Say you give him bad advice, or even good advice, but it doesn't work. When Hana breaks his heart, and it would be her to do the breaking over Dan, believe me, who do you think he'll blame for it?"

"Me," Mei gasped. "Oh no. So, then...what do I do? Hypothetically speaking."

Tracer grinned. "That one's easy, love. Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Absolutely nothing. You don't bring it up ever again. Just keep your advice and thoughts under your hat and if he asks you for advice, do one of two things. A) Tell him 'Well if I was in her position, I'd like 'what have you'.' or B) Say you're not really sure what to tell him. He'll accept that answer pretty easily. This way, it takes its natural course. I did some checking up on Hana."

Mei raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You looked into Hana?"

"Don't get all tin foil hat on me again," Tracer lectured. "Standard Overwatch procedure is to look into people's history, especially after the whole Blackwatch scandal. Apparently, she really lives up to her nickname. She is definitely something of a diva. She's a world champion gamer and she even streams her battles on Flinch."

"That's interesting, but I fail to see what that has to do with Dan."

"She's a celebrity, Mei," Tracer explained, patting her on the shoulder as she went towards the door. "If she's after our Dan, it can only mean one thing: he has something she wants, and she's willing to use him to get it. Once she does, she'll cut him loose without a second thought. When that happens, you just need to be there to comfort him. Hypothetically speaking."

"Wait," Mei called, causing Tracer to pause. "What if you're wrong and she actually does have feelings for Dan? Then what should I do?"

"Hypothetically speaking?"

"Hypothetically speaking."

"Well, then I guess you'd have to think about whether you believe he'd be happier with you or with her. Then you'd have to think about whether you're the sort of person to care either way. Toodles, love."

As she zipped out the door, Mei stood there completely stunned. Sitting in her chair, she turned back to her desk and stared at the tools that were littered about. Could she really just do nothing? But if Hana broke his heart, Mei knew it would hurt her to watch, too. Her fingers ran over the tools, before finally coming to a stop on the wrench. She knew that she had to come up with something.

To be continued...


	10. Chapter 10

Enraptured in Ice Ch. 10

 **AN: Hey everyone, I've been doing a lot of streams lately. I typically have insomnia in the mornings, so I may be streaming more often soon. So if you are bored at 5 AM CMT, pop by my Twitch to see if I'm streaming: KibaElunal. I mostly talk about my fanfiction and my novels and such, but I'm also open to questions and what not. There are lemons in this chapter, I hope you enjoy it. Thanks again for all your support. -Kiba**

Having decided she was done tanning, Hana and Dan walked through the barracks. Her arms were wrapped tightly around his, squeezing it as if he'd float off into the air were she to let go. "Hey, are you okay?" he asked. "You seem...I don't know...weird."

"I'm fine," she whispered, nuzzling against his shoulder. "I'm just happy you're here is all."

"Of course I'm here," he laughed. "Where else would I be?"

"WIth someone else…" she murmured, causing him to pause. "I'm sorry. I'm not normally this jealous," she promised. "I really don't know what's come over me. Maybe I'm self conscious because you don't want to have sex anymore."

"It's not that I didn't enjoy it," he assured her. "Just that it was a little sudden is all. I mean...it was my first time. I never really expected it would be like this."

"Like this?"

"So fast. We've only been together for a few days now. I guess I always just thought it'd be a lot longer before I had sex." Hana gave him a charming smile before kissing his cheek. "I'm sorry you're feeling self conscious. I promise, it has nothing to do with you. Just know that to me," he paused to wrap his arms around her and placed a kiss on her forehead. "Even just holding your hand means a lot to me."

"You're so cheesy," she giggled, taking his hand in hers. As their fingers intertwined, she tugged him into the barracks behind her before closing the door. "You know...we don't have to have sex. There are other things we can do."

"What do you mean?" Dan asked curiously.

Sitting on the bed, she patted the spot beside her, urging him to sit. When he did, she leaned towards him to kiss his neck before whispering in his ear. "Don't think I've forgotten what you did when you thought I was asleep," she teased, caressing his cheek. He turned a bright red, just as she turned him to face her. Pouncing on him, she pressed her lips firmly against his, pushing him down onto the bed. "We could do stuff like that," she explained cuddling to him. "Just...explore."

"I suppose that wouldn't be so bad," he admitted, his hands running down the curves of her body to rest on her hips. "Like this?"

She nodded, her hand slipping under his shirt to lightly drag her nails down his chest. His breath became shallow as he met her eyes with his own. He couldn't bring himself to look away as they gently kissed again, this time far more sweetly than the rough ones they'd shared in the past.

"Dan?" Mei called from outside. Knocking on the door of the barracks, she waited patiently for him. "Are you there? I need some help real quick."

"I should probably go," he whispered, but Hana shook her head. Even still, he sat up, slipping out of the cot.

"Just ignore her," she tried, but he simply smiled at her.

"It's okay. It shouldn't take long. She probably just needs an extra pair of hands with something then I'll come right back. Honest."

"Okay," she surrendered, laying back down on the bed. "Just do me a favor. If I'm asleep when you come back...don't wake me up."

Dan sighed, nodding to show he understood. Straightening his clothes, he opened the door to find Mei standing there. "Hey, Mei. What's going on?"

"I just...need your help in the lab," she tried. He stepped outside closing the door behind him before gesturing with his arm to lead the way. "Sorry. Did I interrupt anything?"

"No, nothing too major. We had a talk. Your advice worked perfectly. She wasn't even a little mad. Actually, I think we've grown closer because of it."

"Oh...that's good to hear," she lied. "I'm glad I could be of help to you."

"So, what did you need my help with?"

Mei cleared her throat. "I lost my wrench, and I was hoping I could see if you could help me find it."

"You need help finding a wrench…?"

"Well, that and I umm...I have something I need you to loosen for me. I can't quite get it unscrewed."

"I thought you said you'd lost the wrench."

"I did, I just...I lost it after I tried it, okay?" Mei stated with a huff. As the lab door slid open, she stepped inside with Dan trailing close behind her.

"Okay, where did you last see it?"

When she nodded towards the table, he approached it, examining them closely. Her tools were laid out neatly as they had been when he'd helped her to unpack, but now the space where her wrench once lay was empty.

He found it oddly suspicious that her typical meticulous behavior had caused her to misplace it. His eyes turned to scan the room, flowing over every surface. "Maybe you misplaced it?" he suggested, causing her to scratch her cheek in thought. As his eyes turned towards her, he could see a slight bulge in her pocket. "Have you checked your pockets?"

Patting herself down, she reached into her pocket, and retrieved the wrench she'd hidden there. "Oh, haha. I guess you're right. I'm so scatterbrained sometimes." Offering him the wrench, he took it from her before once more glancing around.

The two looked at one another in silence before he cleared his throat. "So, what did you need me to undo?"

"Oh! Right, umm...this part here," she pointed, going over to the table that was presently littered with pieces of scrap they'd salvaged from the warehouse. "That ionic converter's flux electrometer is corroded and needs to be replaced."

Moving to it, he picked it up, pressing the wrench to it and with almost no pressure was able to spin it freely from its resting place. Pulling the bolt that held the pieces in place, he carefully laid it on the mat before setting the parts down. "Is that all?" he asked.

"No, I also need...umm…" she began to run through thousands of excuses to use that would keep him there.

Dan took a deep breath of frustration. "Okay, what is going on?"

"Going on? I don't know what you…" His concerned expression caused her to pause mid sentence. "All right...you caught me," she whispered. "I wanted to talk to you about our conversation this morning, but I didn't feel like I could wait until tomorrow."

"Why didn't you just say that?" he asked. "I'd have still come if you'd just asked to talk."

"Would you have?" she questioned. "If I were to call for you, would you literally drop everything, just to come to my side?" He seemed puzzled by her wording, but slowly he nodded. "Why?"

"Well, I'm your assistant, right? I assist you."

"Is that the only reason?"

"Mei, I'm not sure what you want to hear."

"To be honest, I'm not sure I know myself," she admitted. "Look, I don't know how to say this, so here it goes: I want you to be happy."

"Erm...thanks? I want you to be happy too."

He wasn't getting it. Mei still didn't really know what she wanted him to get, just that he still hadn't. "No, I mean...does Hana make you happy?"

"Well, yeah."

Mei's heart sank a little, but she could see by the expression on his face he still didn't understand. "Would you say she makes you happier than you were before?"

Dan paused for a moment, thinking about it deeply. "In some ways," he admitted. "In other ways, not so much. To be honest, happiness isn't really a relative thing for me. I'm happy just because I get to work with Overwatch. I want to be a member of Overwatch, but that doesn't mean I'm not happy until I do. If you're asking if I was unhappy before Hana, the answer would be 'no', but if you're asking if Hana does make me happy, then yes, she is one of the things that makes me happy."

"What about working with me?"

"Yeah. That makes me happy too. Mei, is something wrong? You're not feeling ill are you?" Before she could answer, he quickly pulled up a chair and sat her into it before rummaging through the med kit.

"Dan…"

"Sit," he instructed. "I'm going to take your temperature to see if you have a fever."

"Dan, you don't need to…"

Pulling out the thermometer, he turned, pointing it at her. "Mercy told me that you were my patient now and that I was to look after you," he explained. "I'm not going to fail the last assignment my mentor ever gave me."

"Dan, I'm not sick, I'm scared!" she suddenly blurted, causing him to pause.

"Scared?"

"Yes," she murmured. "I'm scared that Hana is going to hurt you. I'm scared that you're settling for something because you think something else is impossible, when it's really not impossible and...not even necessarily improbable, but…" her words began to ramble on as Dan looked at her stupified.

"Are you asking me to break up with Hana?"

"No!" she shouted a little too loudly, causing him to be taken aback. "No, I'm not asking you to break up with Hana. I'm not asking you to do anything. I just...I have to know that you're with Hana because you want to be and not because I rejected you."

"Oh my God," he whispered. "You _want_ me to be interested in you." The guilty expression on Mei's face was enough to confirm his suspicions. "You're jealous because I'm interested in someone else and not you."

"Yes," she admitted under her breath. Inside she felt awful. She couldn't believe how she was being.

"How long?" he asked softly.

"What?"

"How long have you felt like this? Is this the reason you had a panic attack? Because suddenly I wasn't fawning over you anymore like some puppy on a leash?!" He was beginning to become angry, and Mei knew he had every right to be. "I can't believe you. After all that talk this morning about how you want what's best for me and now…" He took deep breaths, contemplating even leaving the lab then and there.

"I'm sorry," she tried.

"Sorry isn't good enough! How could you treat me like this? You rejected me, remember? You were the one who told me to move on and that you'd never have feelings for me the same way I did for you. Why do you care? Is it because you know that I'd do whatever you asked of me?"

"No."

"Do you want to use me? Manipulate me into getting what you want?"

"No, of course not! I would never do that to you, Dan!"

"Then why do you care if I'm in love with you or not?!" He demanded. "What difference does it make to you if I'm happy with Hana?"

"I don't know," she muttered.

"What?"

"I don't know! Okay?! I don't know why it matters. I don't know why. I just know that it does."

"..."

"You know, what? Just forget it. Forget I said anything, okay? You don't deserve to be treated like this."

"How can you ask me to just forget it?"

"I don't know what you want, Dan! What do you want? Do you want me to just pretend nothing happened between us and that I didn't wrongfully distance myself for you for two weeks? Do you want me to interfere in your love life without asking? Do you want me to just keep my mouth shut and watch you get hurt, if you get hurt, because it's not my business? What do you want from me?"

Dan froze. He tried to move his lips to speak, but every time he did, his mind would silence him and he'd simply close his mouth again. He didn't have an answer. He didn't know what he wanted.

"Dan?"

Grabbing a chair, he sat down, his eyes staring blankly ahead as he wracked his brain looking for the answers that just weren't coming to him. He was happy with Hana, and he wanted to be seen as an adult, but in order to be an adult he had to make his own choices. But Mei was his friend, and friends watch out for each other. If she could see him heading for disaster, he wanted to know that, too. Was Mei trying to tell him something by asking this or was he reading too far into it?

"Dan!"

He snapped out of his trance to see Mei looking at him, a look of hurt and confusion in her face. "I'm sorry, I didn't…"

"What do you want from me, Dan?"

"I don't think I want anything." When Mei looked crestfallen, he quickly recanted his statement. "I mean, I don't want you to just ignore me again, and I don't want to stop being your assistant. I just...I don't understand why you're asking me that question."

"Because I want you to be happy?"

"But what about you?" he asked. "What would make you happy? Do you want me to still be in love with you? You already know that I still am. Are you asking me to break up with Hana?"

"No."

"Then are you asking me to stay with Hana and forget about you?"

"No, I'm not."

"Then what are you asking me to do?"

"I'm asking you to tell me what to do."

"Why are you asking me what you should do?"

"Because what I do will affect you!"

"But what I ask you to do will affect you, too!"

Both of them collapsed into their chairs with a sigh. "When did things become so complicated?" she asked, staring up at the ceiling.

"Probably the day I pulled a beautiful woman out of cryostasis. That was kind of a turning point."

Mei turned her head slightly to regard her assistant who too was leaned back staring up at the ceiling tiles above them. "Maybe we're just too nice for our own good," she commented. "I care more about making you happy then I care about myself."

"And I feel the same way about you," Dan agreed. "If me dating Hana upsets you…" he paused. "I don't want to break up with Hana," he finally stated. "What would make me happy is being in love with both of you and being with you both."

"That's not going to happen," Mei replied.

"I know. I'm wanting my cake and eating it too."

Mei leaned up, looking at the dry erase board. A smile crept to her face. "Let's get scientific about it then, shall we?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Cost-Benefit analysis."

"Really?"

"Okay, so what would be the cost and benefit of staying with Hana?"

"I'd have to ignore my feelings for you. I'd also have to continue convincing Hana you're not jealous of my affection towards her, though I guess that's been thrown out the window."

"Anything else?"

He thought about it for a moment. "Yeah. If I stay with Hana, it means I can never have the chance to be with you."

Mei looked at him confused. "What do you mean?"

"If I pick Hana, that means that I didn't pick you. I put more value on her than I did on you, and if things were to end, I could never take that decision back. It's be like seeing you as settling for second best, and I don't see you that way. I see you as equal."

Suddenly, the door opened as Tracer entered before looking at the two of them. "Whoa," she murmured. "What happened to you two? You both look like you've just learned you've only got two days to live."

"We're doing a cost-benefit analysis of my love life," Dan explained. "Should I stay with Hana or break up with her to risk dating Mei."

Tracer frowned, putting her hands on her hips. "Mei, this is not what I meant…"

"I know," she sighed. "But I couldn't just do nothing. The uncertainty is tearing me up inside. Poor Dan is being torn between Hana and I."

"And Mei doesn't know if she wants me to go after her or stay with Hana."

"What do you think, Tracer?" Mei asked, causing the pilot to hold up her hands defensively.

"Ooh, good idea. An arbiter. What do you think, Tracer?"

"I think you've both gone completely mental," she lectured. "Seriously, why are you both treating this like it's some sort of game or experiment. I understand, feelings are complicated, but even still you have to try to find a middle ground somewhere. Anyway, Dan there was something I wanted to show you. That's why I'm here."

"Me? What is it?"

"Athena, bring the images on screen please," Tracer called. Soon news articles began to flash before him, each one of Hana with a different guy. She always seemed to be giving a cute smile and clinging on to their arm, and a pit began to develop in him stomach.

"Tracer...what is all this?"

Pointing to the first one, she explained, "This is Peter Wakimoto, the manager of the gaming team that Hana was a member of. She managed to gain her invitation to the team a week after the too began dating. Here," she moved her finger, "is her with Jihoon Lee, boy genius and inventor of the MEKA prototype. Days after the the two began seeing one another, she was given her rank in the Korean army." Dan's entire body began to tremble.

"God, please no…" he muttered.

"Tracer stop!" Mei shouted.

"Hyeonwoo Park, son of one of Korea's highest ranking military officers. She soon gets a promotion."

"Tracer!" Mei snapped, causing the pilot to pause to look at her. "That's enough. Why are you doing this to him?"

She let out a huff. "This," she said, tapping the screen, "this is the real Hana Song. Soldier, gamer, genius, yes, she's all of those, but she is manipulating you Dan to cement her position in Overwatch. She is using you, understand?"

"Tracer, you don't have proof of that," Mei argued. "You can't just accuse her of…"

"There's one way to find out," Dan growled, heading towards the door.

"Dan, no!" Mei protested, stepping in front of him to block the door with her body. "I won't let you do this to yourself. You told me you were happy with her, that she made you happy!"

"That was before I knew she was just using me."

"Please," she begged, "think before you do anything rash. You don't know that she's using you, Dan. She may genuinely have feelings for you and if you accuse her of this, you're only going to break her heart. Do you understand? You talked about risking yourself for me, well right now, you're about to risk it all with Hana, and for what?"

"Mei, please get out of the way," he said calmly. "I'm just going to talk to her. You said I deserve to be happy, but how can I be happy if she's been lying to me from the start. Today, she told me she loved me...and if that's a lie, then I'm not going to waste time debating anymore." Mei finally stepped aside, her head hung low as Dan stormed out.

As the door slid closed behind him she frowned. "Tracer, what were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that as Dan's friends, it was our responsibility to tell him the truth. If you think he's hurt now, imagine if this had gone on for another month and then she told him she'd just used him to get into Overwatch."

"Even still," Mei protested, "he didn't deserve to find out like this."

As Dan reentered the barracks, Hana sat up on the bed with a smile before she noticed his expression. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Peter Wakimoto, Jihoon Lee, Hyeonwoo Park…"

"What?"

"Those three are guys that you dated before gaining access to whatever they were working on. You dated Peter, you ended up on his gaming team. You dated Jihoon, you ended up piloting MEKA. You dated Hyeonwoo, then you became the leader. Don't deny it, I know it's true. I just have to know, are you doing the same thing to me?"

"Dan, I…"

"Don't lie to me. Yes or no. Are you using me to get into Overwatch?"

Her eyes fell to her feet, and Dan didn't even need to get an answer. "Dan, please let me explain, I…"

"Explain what? You found out that I was some vulnerable guy who had just had his heart broken, so you decided I'd make an easy way in? I mean Christ, Hana, we fucked! You took my virginity and you did all that just to get into Overwatch?"

"No, it's not like that!"

"Then what is it like, because from where I'm standing it seems like you used me, Hana. You manipulated me into falling in love with you so that you could reap the benefits and justify it by telling yourself that you were so great that you were the best I could ever hope to get."

"Yes, and I'm sorry but…"

"Sorry?" he scoffed. "My friend almost _died_ because of you, Hana. My mentor left, because you did this to me!" Turning on his heel, he was ready to leave her behind. "Well, jokes on you. I don't get a say in whether or not you become a member of Overwatch."

"Damn it Dan, listen to me," she begged, grabbing hold of his arm and attempting to hold him back. However, the much stronger Dan simply began to drag her behind him. Just as his arm slipped from her grip, she pounced on him, catching him by surprise and taking him to the hard tile with a thud.

"Ow," he hissed, the back of his head stinging from the fall. "What the hell is your problem?!"

"You wouldn't listen to me," she argued. "Yes, I used you. It started out that way, but things changed! I stopped seeing you as my ticket to Overwatch when you showed me how much you really cared about me. Dan, I wasn't lying when I said I love you."

"I don't believe you," he retorted. "Now get off of me."

"No," she shouted. "I won't let you do this to me! I won't let you just ditch me!"

"Oh cry me a damned river! Poor Hana. The pretty, successful, super genius can't stand to have someone walk out on her for once instead of the other way around?!"

"Shut up!" she screamed. "You don't know a damned thing about me. You think you can just come in here and talk shit but…" her words were cut off by the feeling of cold metal on her navel and the click of a hammer being pulled back.

"Get. Off." he hissed.

Slowly, Hana rose to her feet, tears forming in her eyes. "Dan, please don't hate me," she begged. "I really do love you. Please you have to believe me. I don't care about Overwatch, I care about you! If you don't believe me, then come with me. We can get out of here and go back to Korea, and I'll prove to you that I mean it."

His features softened as he uncocked his pistol, slipping it back into its holster. He couldn't believe he'd threatened her that way, but he was so angry, so hurt...he was astounded by just how far she had pushed him. "I loved you, too," he whispered. "I really did. But I'm no one's puppet. Don't get me wrong Hana, I felt a deep connection with you, and I mean that from the bottom of my heart. But you blew your chance with me the moment you decided that I was anything less than your equal."

She sank to her knees, tears falling from her eyes to stain the ground beneath her. Dan's heart was breaking as he watched her pain, and he knew that somewhere, she hadn't been lying when she said she cared about him. "Is this it then?" she sobbed. "Are you leaving me?"

"I'm not your boyfriend anymore, Hana. Now I'm just an assistant for the organization you want to join. If you want to, you may be able to work your way up to friend, again, but like I said...you had your chance with me. Oh, and don't worry. Like I said, I don't have an influence on whether or not they hire you to Overwatch."

Just like that, Dan left her crying on the ground of the barracks, walking back to the lab. As the door slid open, Tracer watched him curiously. "Dan?" Mei asked cautiously as he approached her.

Without a second of hesitation, Dan wrapped his arms around Mei's waist and pressed his lips against hers. Her eyes widened from the surprising sensation of his mouth on hers, and after a moment, she began to press back against him, parting her lips to suck softly on his. Tracer had been right, she did want this.

When he lifted her in his arms and lay her on the lab table, her tongue danced with his, her fingers running through his shaggy hair to pull him closer to her. "Erm, right...I should...go," Tracer stammered awkwardly, slowly backing out of the room.

As the door shut behind her, Dan pushed her further back onto the table, sending the tools scattering across the ground. Her legs bent upwards, wrapping around his waist as they passionately continued to make out. His hand rested on her cheek, the other running along her exposed arm.

When they parted, Mei sat up, pulling his shirt off from over his head, her eyes not leaving his glistening ones for even a moment. She lifted her arms to allow Dan to return the favor and strip her of the navy blue tank top she was wearing. "Athena, disable security cameras, and lock the lab's doors," he panted, tossing her shirt across the room.

"D-dan?" Athena questioned in shock.

"Do it," Mei ordered, causing the cameras around them to beep to signal they had been turned off.

Dan kissed her lips again, trailing down her chin to suck on her throat as his hand caressed her large breast. She gave a soft mewl as she slipped off her bra, tossing it forgotten with the rest of their clothing before pulling his head to her nipple.

He instinctively began to run his hot rough tongue against the sensitive flesh before taking it between his lips to suck on it, eliciting a grateful moan from his boss. She held him there, her eyes closed and her mouth open as she panted.

Unable to help herself, her hand slid along her body and into her yoga pants to stroke herself. Already she was drenched between her legs and when she ran her fingertips over her clit, her back arched, pressing her tit further into Dan's eager maw.

Had she really wanted this so badly? If so, why had it taken her so long to realize it? Together the two managed to wriggle out of the rest of their clothes, before Dan released her nipple. Their eyes met briefly before he began to kiss down her body again until his lips pressed against her mound.

Slipping his tongue between her velvety folds, it would wriggle and writhe inside of her, sending the most wonderful sensations straight to her mind until all she could comprehend was bliss. "Oh God, Dan! Yes!" she moaned loudly pulling him tightly in an attempt to push his tongue deeper into herself.

Her body tensed up again, this time a pool of cum gushing from her in a torrent onto the table and into Dan's waiting mouth. As he lapped up her cum from her pussy, she couldn't believe what was happening.

She gently tugged his hair, pulling him up her body and kissing him deeply. The taste of herself was still fresh on his tongue as he pressed his thick tip against her entrance. Her body flopped down, legs spread widely to make room for him as he pressed himself inside of her at an agonizingly slow rate.

"F-faster," she begged grinding her hips against his as he continued to thrust deep into her. As she requested, his hands gripped her hips as he began to pound her faster and faster with his hard member. "Y-yes! God, y-yes!"

Dan couldn't believe he was doing this. It was as if a dream had come true. Her walls were soft and warm, tightening around him as he pulled out as if pleading for his cock to stay buried inside of her, only to loosen as he thrust back in, to welcome him back inside.

Her walls caressed his cock in ways that Hana's never had. As his hands slid down from her hips to her thighs, he placed two fingers on her clit, rolling it and teasing it as her eyes fluttered closed, their moans combining together in the air.

Finally with one loud squeal, she clamped down tightly on his waist, cumming hard all over his cock. The maddening tightness reached him too, and pulling from her, he came as well, sending ivory ribbons of spunk onto her toned stomach to pool on her belly button, before he collapsed on top of her, the two of them panting in exhaustion.

"Oh my God," she gasped, her disheveled brown hair plastered to her face with sweat. "That was incredible."

"Agreed," Dan groaned, before placing his lips against hers and snuggling into her embrace.

Mei's fingers once more found themselves running along her stomach, feeling the icy sensation of the cum beginning to dry on her skin. "Dan?"

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry, about Hana. I know that you really liked her," she whispered to him.

He sighed, detangling himself from her to sit with his legs dangling off the side of the workbench. "I think, somewhere inside I knew this was the case," he finally sniffed, still struggling to hold back the angry tears that were there. "I mean, what would a girl like that ever see in a guy like me?"

"Don't say that," Mei lectured, sitting up beside him. Her hand sought out his, her fingers weaving between his own as they sat there together. "You're really not as bad as you think you are."

For a moment he said nothing before letting out another sigh. "Mei, I'm really sorry about all this. This isn't how I intended anything to go between us. I was hurt and angry and...I wanted to show you that I didn't just have feelings for you, but that I was confident enough to show it. Then, things just kind of...got out of hand."

"I'll say," she giggled. "It's okay, Dan. It's not like I didn't go along with you every step of the way."

"Why did you?" he asked finally. "You said you'd never have feelings for me."

Readjusting her glass with her free hand, Mei tried to think of how best to explain. She was struggling to understand why, herself. It was very out of character for her to have gone along with it, but she did anyway. "I don't know," she admitted. "What I do know is, never is an awfully long time, you know? We've already discussed how my rejection was a bit of a knee-jerk reaction."

"Okay…?"

"What I'm trying to say is, don't give up on me just yet. Keep doing what you're doing and I may just come around. You'll just have to see." Leaning closer, she placed a gentle kiss on his cheek, causing a light pink to flush through his face. "Tell you what, let's pretend all of this didn't happen, okay? That way, _if_ it does happen again, you can do it right. As amazing as this was, I can only imagine how wonderful it would be if you put your mind to it."

"You're too good to me," he replied, giving her a weak smile. "Besides it wasn't that great was it? I mean, it was only my second time."

"Really? I wouldn't have guessed that. I guess you're a natural." It was then that what he said clicked in her head. "Oh, Dan...she didn't."

"Afraid so," he replied. "Look, it was my fault too, you know? I'm the one who fell for it, but I knew it was dumb even when it started. _If_ I find a woman who actually loves me, I know she's not just going to fall into my lap. I've known that for a while, but I don't know...maybe I just felt like I deserved a win for once."

"Does this count?" she asked, taking his chin and turning it towards her so she could place a kiss on his lips. After a few moments, she pulled away with a smile.

"Yes," he answered hoarsely before clearing his throat. "Seriously, I still can't believe it happened. It feels too good to be true."

"Well, there's no going back now," she teased, nuzzling her head against his. "Don't worry Dan, I'm sure tomorrow everything will feel like it's back to normal. The people here love you Dan, and we would never allow…"

"I want you to let her into Overwatch," he interrupted, causing Mei to sit up in surprise.

"What?"

"You were about to say you'd never let someone who hurt me into Overwatch, right? I want you to let her in."

"Dan…"

"She's a lot of things, Mei. She manipulated me and used me, but I did complete my mission before I came back from Korea, even before that point. I watched her fight off Talon beside me, and she's not someone I'll just let Overwatch pass on because of my feelings."

"Just when I thought you couldn't surprise me more," she finally giggled. "Okay. Tomorrow you should hand in your report to Tracer, and she'll get everything settled in. Would you like to stay the night here? One-time offer...for now."

"Yes, but...I'd like to talk to her first. I want to apologize to her."

"Apologize? For what?"

He blushed even more. "Well...she tried to pin me down, and in the heat of the moment, I may have drawn my gun on her," he admitted sheepishly. Mei's eyes widened to the size of saucers. "I know, unbelievable right?"

"I'll say. Fine, you can go talk to her, I guess. But if I see Athena deactivating security cameras in the barracks I swear I will throttle you," she teased.

"Not likely," Dan laughed. "And Mei, I'll clean up this mess tomorrow, okay? When I come back in later, I'll try not to wake you up."

"Oh, I'll be awake. I'm not going to let you get out of cuddle time that easily, Dan. Just for tonight though. Tomorrow, things go back to normal, right?"

"Right," he agreed. Standing up, he began to put his clothes back on. A few times, he had to stop to support himself against the table. He hadn't noticed it at first, but his legs were still trembling from the excitement of it all. "Well, I'll be back, okay?"

"Okay."

Smoothing his clothes out, Dan went and knocked on the barracks door, but there was no response. "Hana?" he called, but again there was silence. Immediately, thousands of macabre scenarios played out in his head, and he quickly burst in to find the room completely empty. "Hana?"

There was no response. Walking to the bed, he picked up a piece of paper that had lay there and scanned its contents. His eyes widened as he quickly turned and began running down the path towards the city. He had to get there quickly.

In the airport terminal, Hana held her briefcase in her hands, fully packed and waiting for her plane to begin boarding. "Whoa!" someone suddenly said. "I know you. You're D. Va. What are you doing here?! This is amazing! No one's going to believe this."

"Oh, hi," she smiled trying to appear cheerful in front of the fan. "Yeah, sorry. I'm just waiting for my plane back to Korea. I had to drop off my friend here."

"I see. This is so cool to be able to meet you in person. I heard you got a new boyfriend recently, so congratulations. What's he like?"

"Hana!" Dan called, running into the terminal, panting and wheezing. "Hana, stop!" he cried again causing her to look to him in shock.

"He's certainly something," she chuckled to herself. "Would you mind too terribly if I spoke with him?"

"Oh, of course. Sorry."

"No worries. If you want, I'll sign something for you really quick."

"Oh! Thanks a bunch. Umm...here!" The boy opened his backpack and passed her his mouse pad. Pulling the marker she always carried on her, she popped open the cap before signing 'Love, D. Va.' in long flowing script, before passing it back to him. "Wow, thank you so much. My friends will never believe this."

As he left, she waved politely before turning back to Dan, her hands clutching her suitcase tightly. "Hey Dan, sorry. I was just signing something for a fan. What are you doing here? Come to make sure I leave?"

"Of course not," he argued. "I'm here to bring you back."

"Bring me back? Then you've forgiven me?"

"Hell no," he snapped, causing her to flinch.

"I'm really confused."

He took deep breaths trying to regain his stamina. "Listen, Hana...I'm still really mad about the fact that you used me. You tried to manipulate me into getting you into Overwatch, and believe me, I actually fell for you. Hard. You broke my heart."

"I know, and I'm so sorry, Dan. I'd do anything to…"

"Not finished," he interrupted. "I still don't believe that you love me, or that you ever did...but I also know that you're not a malicious person. When we were together, I had fun. You helped a lot to open me up, and thanks to you I'm much more confident than I was before. I went to the barracks to apologize to you for drawing my gun. Completely over the top, I'm sorry. It was a heat of the passion thing, and I swear to you it will never happen again."

"Again?"

"I'm not going to let you leave here." he stated. Looking around, he leaned closer to her before whispering into her ear, "Overwatch needs you. I already talked to the others and what happened isn't going to affect their answer. I'm handing my report in tomorrow and believe me, it will be a positive one. Not because of how you treated me when we were together, but because I think you deserve a place there."

She stood there in silent awe for a moment, her tears beginning to well up again before she surged forth and hugged him tightly. "Thank you," she whispered in his ear. "Again, I'm really sorry, Dan. I meant it when I said I was starting to fall for you. People typically see me as disposable. I know what its like to be used. I think that's why I used you. Thank you for showing me that it's possible for someone to care whether or not I'm around."

He smiled, hugging her back as well before taking her suitcase from her hands. "Come on," he nodded towards the exit. "Let's go back to watchpoint. It's late and tomorrow morning you're going to need to have your official briefing." With a smile, she released her things for him to carry before following him out of the airport.

To be continued...


	11. Chapter 11

Enraptured in Ice Ch. 11

 **AN: Hey everyone, sorry it's been a bit. A lot of things have been happening in my life, none of which very good. My job reduced my hours due to budget cuts, so now I don't make enough money to survive every month. I have a Pratreon set up. Just go to the website and search for Kiba Elunal. Any bit of money would really help me out, and even if you can't pledge anything, just following the Pratreon itself would be helpful. I also have my own blog on Blogspot. Kibaelunal. Blogspot. Com. The more followers I get on the blog, I'll be able to start generating ad revenue which will also help a lot. The blog has tips and tricks to help improve writing, and I'm even going to start critiquing fanfiction. Thank you so much for your support everyone, I'm sorry to have to ask you all for this. I wish you the best of luck in life and literature. -Kiba**

Checking his watch, Dan frowned. It was already two in the morning? Had it really taken him so long to get back from the airport? He stood staring up at the door of the lab, contemplating whether or not to go in.

Hana was squared away again, and he had told her that he intended to sleep elsewhere for the time being. He didn't feel it was a good idea to tell her about what happened between him and Mei. If she found out, it would look really bad for him, even though he was certain he'd done nothing wrong.

With a huff, he slid open the door and made his way through the pitch black room. Already he could make out the curvy outline that lay in the bed, waiting for his return. For her sake, he hoped she hadn't kept her word about waiting up for him.

Pulling back the corner of the blanket, his eyes fell upon a woman that he was not familiar with. He blinked in confusion, his mind trying to piece things together. The woman was young, her skin darker in tone like someone who'd spent their whole life in the desert. As if to confirm his thoughts, beneath her eye was a stylized tattoo like that of an Egyptian hieroglyph.

Before he could react, her eye shot open and upon falling on him, he immediately dropped the sheet holding up his hands. "I swear, this isn't what it looks like," he tried, as her hand shot outward for something beneath the nightstand behind her. With a loud bang, he barely managed to dodge aside as a bullet grazed his arm.

"No, stop!" He cried, diving for cover as more bullets tore past him. Grabbing the steel lab table that he and Mei had made love on, he turned it over for cover, able to feel it vibrating with every impact of the bullets.

"Come out," she ordered in a stern voice. "If you do, I swear to you I will end you quickly for your trespassing."

" _I'm_ trespassing?!" he argued, just as another bullet whizzed over his head. He was surprised how accurate her shooting was given that the lab was presently pitch black. He'd managed to find the table through memory alone.

Curiously, he grabbed a hammer and threw it aside, and sure enough when it landed with a clatter, a bullet smashed into it, sending it skittering across the tile. So she couldn't see him, she was firing by sound alone. Who was this woman?

"Athena, activate lab's PA system," he whispered as softly as he could.

"Come out," she repeated.

"Not until you stop shooting," he retorted, his voice echoing all around her. He could hear her turning about confused. His plan was working. "You seem to be having trouble finding me."

"You will not make a fool of me, pervert," she hissed, the sound of her gun's clip being replaced with another.

"It was an honest mistake! I thought you were my boss."

"You'd perv on your commanding officer?! You are the lowest scum of a man."

This woman was not going to listen to reason. He couldn't believe he was having to do this. His hand went to his waist, quietly unclipping his pistol and pulling back the hammer slowly. His only hope was to fight her to a stand still.

"Athena, activate lights, full power."

Closing his eyes, he shielded himself as they suddenly flicked on, causing the woman to let out a cry of pained surprise. Jumping out from cover, he took aim and with a well placed shot, sent the pistol from her hands before pointing his gun at her.

"All right, now you've got questions to answer. Who are you?!" he demanded, keeping his gun trained between her eyes. She said nothing, her gaze stern and fierce. Pulling back the hammer of the gun, he repeated his question, and she in turn remained silent. "Turn around, put your hands behind your back." She again, refused to comply. Was she really so damned proud that she'd take a bullet before surrendering herself.

He couldn't deny there was something familiar about her. She was rather shapely, though nothing like Mei. Still, she stood tall and straight, her piercing glare unwavering as she waited to accept her fate.

Dan knew he wouldn't be able to shoot her, but still he didn't have much of a choice. He carefully made his way around her towards the gun she dropped, never lowering his weapon. She in turn, rotated to keep her eyes on him. It didn't even seem as though she blinked.

Bending down, he slowly picked up the gun that she'd fired at him before tucking it into his back waistband. Stepping closer to her, his sights still set, he went to ask her her name one more time, but just as he was in range, she grabbed his wrist and before he could react, swept his legs out from under him.

Before he could roll over to get back up, she had one arm wrapped around his throat, the other locking his arm in place so he couldn't move to defend himself. As she began to choke him, he could feel her breath on his ear.

"You are a fool," she hissed. "You should never show an enemy mercy."

As he began to black out, the door burst open, Tracer and Mei rushing in with guns drawn. "Pharah is something...wrong?"

"Dan! Pharah, release him, he's one of ours!" Mei explained.

Immediately, Dan fell forward, gasping for air as he took deep breaths. Ripping her gun from his back, the woman he now knew as Pharah checked it to ensure that it was still functioning before placing it back on the night stand. "I caught him attempting to watch me in my state of undress," she explained coldly.

Tracer raised an eyebrow. "Dan?"

"I tried to tell her, it was a misunderstanding!" he protested, getting to his feet.

"Who is this imbecile?" Pharah asked. "Explain."

Mei frowned. She wasn't too happy with the way their guest was treating Dan, but under the circumstances, she felt it was best to keep quiet. "Daniel McQueen, meet Fareeha Amari. Call sign: Pharah. Fareeha, this is Dan, he's our assistant."

"Amari?" Dan asked. "As in Ana..." Immediately, Tracer's hand clamped over his mouth.

"Sorry, he talks a lot. Dan, let's allow our guest to sleep in peace. Don't worry Pharah, I promise he will receive a stern reprimand for this."

Her unwavering and angry glare stayed trained on him, but she slowly nodded, turning to go back to bed as Mei and Tracer dragged him outside. "Sorry about that, Dan," Mei apologized. "I should have called you, but it was late and she kind of showed up by surprise."

"What were you doing in there anyway?" Tracer asked.

Mei and Dan shared an embarrassed glance that went undetected before Mei spoke up. "I told him he could stay in the lab for now. I figured it'd be better for him to have some space from Hana."

"I see. Well, it can't be helped now. Sorry Dan, looks like you're staying in the barracks with the rest of us."

"Who is she?" he repeated. "What is she doing here?"

"As you may have surmised, Fareeha is the daughter of Ana Amari. I stopped you because there are some...unsettled disagreements between her and her mother. Now that she's dead, those disagreements aren't able to be resolved, and as you can see she's a bit abrasive. I figured it'd be best you didn't anger her more."

"Thank you," Dan murmured.

"She's here because she needs our help. Talon stole something from her. We'll leave it at that for now. It's too early to keep talking," Mei complained.

"Agreed," Tracer yawned. "Let's head back to bed." Before the others could respond, she zipped away to return to sleep.

Standing together awkwardly, Dan smiled at Mei. "Thanks for covering for me," he whispered, the two walking together back towards their quarters. "Sorry that we have to keep this thing between us secret."

"It's okay," she giggled. "Besides, it's not really anyone else's business, right? What took you so long anyway? I was up until midnight and you still hadn't come back yet."

"Hana ran away. She was going to fly back to Korea, so I had to stop her."

"Sounds romantic," Mei teased. "I think every girl dreams of a man chasing her down before she gets on a plane. So...what happened?"

"I managed to bring her back. I told her I'd give Tracer my report in the morning. I haven't changed it since before we started dating, so I'm hoping that she'll accept it. By the way, why is Pharah in your room?"

"Well...she's a very private individual," she explained. "She isn't much of a socialite, so she requested a room where she could be ensured privacy. Guess I should have remembered the agreement I made with you."

"Speaking of which…"

Mei giggled again. "Is it still on the table? I suppose I can let you stay in my room with me tonight, but you're going to have to sneak out in the walk of shame tomorrow. Think you're up for the task?"

"I snuck into Pharah's room without even trying, didn't I?"

She just laughed as she placed his hand in hers, walking with him until they reached her room. Making sure no one was watching, they slipped inside, and before he could formulate a question, Mei kissed him sweetly on the lips before crawling into bed.

Smiling, Dan slipped out of his shirt and kicked off his shoes. Sliding into place beside her, he wrapped his arms around his boss, glad to feel the warmth rolling off of her body as he trailed kisses along her exposed neck.

Mei gave a happy purr, pressing back against him. She'd enjoy this for tonight, she decided, but tomorrow they'd go back to just being coworkers. Even still, she found herself excited by the prospect that someday, she may be able to enjoy this again.

The realization made it occur to her that perhaps she already did possess feelings for Dan, but she quickly silenced those thoughts by reminding herself that good things come to those who wait. Together, they curled up beside one another, closing their eyes, and falling asleep.

The next morning, Dan awoke to find Mei's eyes still closed, her breath calmly rolling over him as she dozed peacefully. "Good morning," he whispered quietly before nuzzling her with his nose.

She smiled slightly, her eyes opening to see Dan snuggled against her. "Good morning," she murmured back. "How did you sleep?"

"Never better," he admitted. "You?"

"Very well, thank you."

"Mei?" A voice called outside. Immediately, the feeling of satisfaction that the two shared became one of panic as Dan quickly rolled from the bed.

"J-just a second!" she called, scooping up Dan's shirt and tossing it to him before pushing him into the closet. Dan held his breath as she opened the door to see Tracer. "Good morning, Tracer. What's up?"

"I was looking for Dan," she replied. "I'm waiting for his report on Hana, but he wasn't in his room. It didn't even look as if he slept in his bed."

"Have you checked Winston's Lab?" Mei asked as Dan peered through the slits of her closet. His heart was racing as he watched the two, praying Tracer wouldn't find him and end the charade.

She sighed. "Yes, but Athena says he never even came in. The last she registered of him was entering the Barracks, but she says he never left. I thought maybe he'd come to speak to you this morn…" Her words trailed off as her foot bumped into Dan's shoe. Looking down at it, she looked up at Mei, with a concerned glance. "Mei, where's Dan?"

"I-I'm not sure," she lied. "Last night, we stayed up a bit longer and talked. He must have left his shoes here. It's a Chinese culture thing to take off your shoes before entering someone's home."

"Mei, I'm wearing my shoes and you haven't said a word," Tracer pointed out.

"Well, I didn't want to be rude. Dan left my room last night. I'm not sure where he went off to though. Maybe he managed to slip out from under Athena's notice. After all that's happened, he probably wants some alone time is all."

Tracer leaned down picking up the black tennis shoe. "Without his shoes?"

Mei just shrugged her shoulders, causing Tracer to sigh before dropping them on the ground again. Leaning against the wall, she crossed her arms over her chest.

"So what happened yesterday after I left? I have to say that kiss you two shared seemed more than platonic."

"Yeah, well...he surprised me is all. After you left, we just stopped and talked for a while. Then he went to go get Hana because she was trying to leave for Korea, but he managed to bring her back and…"

A cat like grin spread across Tracer's face. "You had sex, didn't you?"

"Wh-what?! No! Of course not! How can you suggest something so crude?" Mei exclaimed, her cheeks blushing furiously. "Dan and I are just friends! That's all."

"Uh-huh. This is all very interesting, Mei. So then if you and Dan are just friends, and he didn't spend the night here as I thought, you won't mind me saying something super embarrassing that you don't want him to hear, right?"

"I can't think of a single valid reason as to why not," she surrendered through gritted teeth.

Now Dan's face was entirely flushed as he leaned forward curiously. He had a hard time believing that Mei had any sort of dirty laundry. This, he felt, would help him to learn more about the real Mei.

"We should talk about that time you had that dream just last week," Tracer commented, the smile unfading from her face. "Such a very interesting story. Naughty, too."

Naughty? Dan's heart began to race. "Ha ha, very funny, Tracer. Don't you think you're taking this joke a little far?" Mei asked.

"What? It's just us, right? You already told me the story, so it doesn't really matter if it's just the two of us in here. I still remember you reading it out of your dream journal. So descriptive." Sitting on the bed, she tugged the journal from the drawer before Mei could even stop her.

"Tracer, give it back!" she cried, but the faster girl began to zip around the room, reading it and keeping it out of her reach.

"'He took me into his arms, holding me there and whispering sweet nothings into my ear. I could feel his heated breath and his passioned heart beating for me. He placed his hands on my breasts, massaging them lovingly as he stared up at me. I was his Goddess, and he my loyal High Priest. He would do anything to pleasure me, and I knew it, too. With every soft word of encouragement I gave, he served to pleasure me even more greatly, even going so far to drink from me as if I were a holy chalice. His tongue was so hot and slippery, it was like…"

"Stop!" Mei whined, tackling Tracer to the ground. "Ugh, it's so embarrassing!"

"Where's Dan?" Tracer asked. When Mei said nothing she went to continued reading, but the climatologist easily plucked it from her grasp and threw it away on the bed.

"He's in the closet, okay? He's hiding in the stupid closet."

Tracer tore open the doors to gaze upon the half naked lab assistant. "Well, I hope you enjoyed that little dramatic reading. Put your shirt on. You and I need to have a little chat, understand?"

"Okay," he muttered, following after her once he'd redressed. As he trailed her outside, she suddenly grabbed him and threw him against the wall of one of the buildings.

"Are you out of your damned mind?!" she hissed. "I cannot tell you all the rules you've broken in the last forty eight hours! I couldn't get back to you on the rules of fraternization, that's true, but dear God Dan, sticking your dick in a woman before you've broken up with your girlfriend? That's not cool in any situation."

"It was after we broke up," he grumbled.

"Five minutes is not 'after', Dan!"

"This isn't any of your business, Lena," he stated coldly, causing her to pause and let go of his collar. Smoothing it out for him, she sighed.

"So, now what happens?" she asked. "I don't imagine Hana knows. How do you think she'll feel when she sees you arm in arm with Mei so shortly after you two have separated?"

"Mei and I aren't together," he corrected, his eyes falling to his feet. "We both agreed that what happened between us was nice, but was a mistake and that we need to just pretend it didn't happen. We just slept in the same bed last night as a follow up, but that's the end of it."

Tracer's eyes softened slightly before she wrapped her arms around Dan and hugged him close. "I'm so proud of you! Oh, it's so hard not wanting to squeeze the hell out of your adorable body. Little Dan's growing up so fast!"

"Shut up!" he protested shoving her away. "Look, I was upset and I made a mistake. I don't need you giving me a hard time about it!"

"Oh, so Mei is a mistake now, is she?"

"No, but having sex with her was. That wasn't how any of this was supposed to go. I wasn't supposed to date a girl who was using me to get into Overwatch. I wasn't supposed to go berserk and have sex with a woman whom I respect very deeply, on a whim! I was supposed to be happy! Now...I'm just confused." He rested his head against the wall with a groan. "I don't know what to do about it. I still have feelings for Hana, but I have feelings for Mei, too. I know that I'd be happy with Mei, but I don't know if I can trust Hana, and I've had sex with both of them and don't get me wrong, both times were great, but…"

"Wait, you had sex with both of them?!" Tracer cried, a big smile on her face.

"Focus Tracer! Look, I need you to tell me what to do. Please. Mei is willing to forget this ever happened, but I don't know if I want to forget it. I don't want to get back with Hana again. I want to be with Mei, but I don't think she'll agree to it."

Placing both of her hands on his shoulders, Tracer smiled at him sincerely. "Listen up Dan. I'm going to impart onto you some advice, passed down from woman to woman since time eternal."

He nodded, waiting expectantly.

"Fuck it."

"...What?"

"Fuck it. Fuck it all to hell. You've only got one life Dan, no point in living it half-assed. If you want Mei to be with you, tell her that. Don't hold back."

"What happened to 'You're aiming for outside of your reach' and 'Just forget her Dan it's never going to happen'?"

"Fuck it."

"But what if I tell her I want to be with her and she says no?"

"Fuck it."

"Tracer, you're really not helping me at all. I'm serious about this!"

She gave a light sigh. "Dan, as your friend, I am telling you this in the strictest confidence that you keep this solely between us. Go for it. I can tell you with 95% certainty that she'll say 'yes'."

"How do you know?"

"Shh. Don't worry about that. Just...aim for that 95% okay?"

He paused for a moment. "Out of curiosity, what is the other 5%?"

"You trip and fall face first into a puddle of acid on your way to talk to her."

"Seriously?"

"I'm a time traveler, you've got to trust me on these things. Stay away from acid, Dan."

"That's...not comforting. Anyway, if you say I should go for it...I'll go for it. This isn't you trying to cockblock me, right?"

"Can't cockblock someone who's already gotten laid," she laughed, nudging him playfully with her elbow. "Now come on, give us details! What sort of sounds do they make? I bet Mei's a squealer."

"Christ, Tracer," Dan shuddered, his cheeks burning red. "For all of our sakes get laid!"

"Why should I when I can just live vicariously through your sex life?" she teased.

"Right...I'm going to go find Mei now." With that, Dan turned to leave before Tracer called after him.

"Hey! First things first: your report for Hana?"

"Let her in! She managed to fight off Talon with just the two of us!"

"Gotcha, I'll start it up now. Good luck. Don't you dare bang someone again when you're supposed to be working or I'll have your ass, and not the same way that she does, either!"

"You really are the worst!" he groaned, heading back toward the lab. As Tracer went to file the paperwork, neither of them noticed the dark shape vanishing from the shadows of the alleyway.

Once Dan reached the front door of the lab, he was suddenly grabbed, pulled into the alleyway, and thrown against the wall of the building and a pistol shoved in his face. Down its barrel he could see the dark angry eyes of Pharah.

"Wh-what are you doing?" he asked. "I'm not trying to peep again, I actually do work in that lab so…"

"Shut up," she hissed, interrupting his words. "You are some of the most dishonorable filth I've ever laid eyes upon. I listened to your conversation with Tracer, and unlike her, I am not amused."

"Wait you…" Dan's eyes widened. "Hold on! You can't tell, Hana!"

"Still your tongue," she ordered. "You're a monster preying on the hearts of young maidens and I will not stand for this. I don't know how you twisted Professor Zhou's mind to care for you so, but you will regret it."

"What is your deal?" he scoffed. "How is any of this _your_ business? Who I'm interested in romantically has nothing to do with you, unless it is you, which after the second time you've jammed a gun in my face, will never happen. You're crazy!" Before he could continue his spiel, she slammed the butt of her pistol hard into the side of his head, sending him to the ground with a grunt.

Kneeling down, she put her gun to the back of his head and pulled the trigger. "You are going to stand up slowly, head to the gates, find the first plane out of Gibraltar, and you're going to leave. Understand? If you don't, I _will_ kill you. The only reason you still breathe now is because I don't want your foul blood to taint Overwatch."

"Tough shit," I wheezed, pushing myself up before she struck me hard in the back, sending me sprawling back into the dust. "Kill me if you want," I declared. "I've worked too hard and for too long to leave Overwatch, just because some nobody I've never met disapproves of my romantic life choices."

Another blow, this time a kick to my ribs that made me groan. She rolled me on to my back, pointing the gun in my face. "Last chance," she growled. "You will leave them alone. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal," I grunted, causing her to quickly leave me behind. For a few minutes, I simply lay there, trying to gather the strength to get back to my feet. I was certain she'd broken one of my ribs. That was when I suddenly felt a sharp jab in my leg, followed by the whoosh of a silenced gunshot. Had I been shot? Reaching down to my leg, I found a small syringe like casing, now empty. Drugged?

The pain seemed to drain from my body almost instantly, and I suddenly felt much better. Slowly getting to my feet, I pressed my hand against where she'd kicked me to find my ribs still intact. What the hell? My eyes scanned the buildings, looking for evidence of the shooter. I saw nothing amidst the shadows and dark corners of the compound.

Scratching my head, puzzled, I turned and entered Mei's lab. "Hey Dan," she called replacing her tools back on the metal table that she'd now righted. "So...what did you tell her?" she asked.

Looking up from the object he held in his hand, he registered that she'd spoken. "Sorry, umm...I told her about us...but I think she already knew. Something really strange happened to me outside."

"Let me guess, Tracer was absolutely thrilled by the news. She's been talking you up to no end."

Checked out again, I worked carefully to remove the needle from the syringe before praying just a drop of the medicine was left over.

Sure enough, there was just enough to make a slide, and I quickly took it to the microscope. "Dan, are you listening?"

"Y-yeah," I stammered, twisting the focus knobs. My eyes widened at what I saw. "Holy shit," I muttered. "They're nanobots."

"What?"

"I was injected with nanobots, I think they healed my wounds. Based on this, it looks as if they are designed to patch wounds and disrupt nerve clusters to remove pain."

"Wounds? What wounds? Who injected you?" Mei asked, utterly confused by my deductions.

I hesitated telling Mei about my encounter with Pharah. I knew that if I did tell her, she'd talk to her, and if she talked to her, who knew what would happen to me next. I had no doubt the crazy woman actually would shoot me and dump my body over a cliff. "I don't know who shot me, or why," I answered. It wasn't technically a lie. I didn't know who had shot me or their motivations for healing me.

"I see," Mei murmured. "Well, another mystery to the list of mysteries, I guess."

"The list? What other mysteries are there?"

"For starters, the mystery of how my hammer was destroyed."

"Pharah shot it last night."

"Well, one down. Okay, Sherlock, maybe you can tell me why the weather has been all screwy?"

"To give pretty scientists something to do," I suggested, causing her to raise an eyebrow.

"When did you become so charming all of a sudden?" she asked, half-teasing.

To be honest, I had no idea where that came from. Did my confidence from last night's encounters stay with me? "Somewhere between having sex the first time and having sex the second time, I guess."

"You're funny," she commented sarcastically before flashing me a smile. "But enough flirting. It's time to get to work. We've been really far behind lately. Let's get started on this climate control device."

"Yes ma'am," he answered, picking up the tools we'd need. Standing beside her, Dan offered her the wrench. Just as she reached for it he pulled it back. "Now, you're not going to lose it this time, right?"

"What did I just say about flirting?" she giggled, snatching it from my grip, and moving to tighten one of the lugnuts. "Do think you can handle working on an ionic converter? We need a way to stabilize their vibrational energy for emission."

"Understood," he beamed, grabbing the component and setting to work. It wasn't too bad of a patch job, just a small crack along its housing, but still he was glad he could help. Every now and then he'd peer up up at Mei, watching as her hips swayed slightly to the rhythm of whatever song it was she was humming. It was then that it struck him again, just how much he felt for her. "M-mei?" he called to her, causing her to pause her work and look over her shoulder.

"Hmm?"

"I...I…" he began to stammer, his heart racing and his cheeks flushed. He strongly wanted to blurt out his feelings again. He wanted to just tell her that he loved her, one more time, but he knew that wasn't the way to do this. Regardless of what Tracer told him, he didn't want this to be fast. He wanted to be patient with this. "I just wanted to say, you look very nice today," Dan explained, giving her a smile.

Placing her pencil down that she was using to sketch her design, she moved to stand across from him, leaning on her elbows. Dan bit his lip nervously as he watched her examining his handiwork on the table. Why wasn't she saying anything? "Do you think…" Mei began, pausing for a moment to run her finger along the back of his hand, "you could show me what you did?"

A warm shudder ran through his spine as her soft lips curled into that smile he loved so much. "What, this?" he asked indicating the converter. "Y-yeah, it's a pretty simple fix." As he showed her the repairs he'd made, he couldn't help but notice the way she squeezed her breasts together with her arms, giving him even more of a view down her low cut tank top than it normally did. "And...you're flirting with me and I'm being incredibly oblivious...aren't I?" he murmured.

She gave a slight chuckle, leaning closer to him before placing a gentle kiss on his forehead. "Keep it up, my brilliant assistant. I'm counting on you," she purred. As she turned to leave, Dan felt his heart race. Maybe he should go for it.

"Mei?" he called.

"Yes, Dan?" she replied, her beautiful brown eyes once more meeting his. "Did you need something else?"

"I just wanted to ask...would you like to...go see a movie sometime? Like...just us?" he felt so dumb about how he asked. He wasn't sure how to do it without scaring her off, so he hoped she'd understand.

"Dan, are you asking me on a date?" she asked, her sultry voice teasing every fiber of his being. "So soon after breaking up with another girl at that?" Her second question caused him to sink like a rock. Angling his head downward, he almost felt ashamed of himself. Dan knew he hadn't done anything wrong, but even still, Mei had a point.

Approaching him again, she tilted his chin up so she could stare deep into his eyes. "I...I'm…"

Leaning closer, she whispered softly in his ear. "I didn't say, 'no'." Turning his head, she placed a light peck on his cheek. "I'd be happy to see a movie with you, Dan. Maybe after you could take me to dinner?"

Joy raced through his veins. "Y-yes! Definitely!" he agreed excitedly. "Th-thank you!"

She just giggled, "You don't have to thank me, Dan. Just show me a good time."

"I will," he promised.

Inside, Mei felt like cheering. She couldn't believe how well Dan had done, though she had to admit that perhaps she teased him a little too much. It was cute how quickly his emotions changed with every word she breathed, but at the same time, she couldn't help but feel bad for scaring him.

Returning to her blueprints, she looked down to see all of the small hearts she'd been sketching absent mindedly, and she gave a light sigh. Tracer was right, she had it bad for him. When did she suddenly fall so hard? It wasn't like her.

Installing the new ionic converter into the machine, she tried her best to focus solely on work, though the feeling of Dan's eyes on her was highly distracting. "Hey, Dan? Can you come here for a sec? I wanted to see if you could see what's wrong here."

Moving beside her, Mei allowed herself to enjoy his warmth. "What is it?" he asked. "Is the ionic converter not working?"

"I think so, but see this cone here?" she asked pointing to it. "It should start vibrating, but it's not moving at all."

"Huh…" Leaning further into the casing, Dan began to tinker around inside of it as Mei took a step back to admire him doing so. She felt so feverish. Was this from what happened last night? She really wasn't that sort of girl, but there was something about the way that he took charge that just...clicked. "I think I found your problem," he explained, grabbing the allen wrench.

"No, Dan! Don't…" There was suddenly a loud whine of feedback as Dan collapsed to the ground, blood beginning to drip from his eyes and ears. "Dan!" Mei cried, running to his side to examine him. "Athena, run a scan! Is he okay?!"

"Scanning...Dan requires immediate medical attention. The intense ionic vibrations have ruptured his eardrums, and seem to have burst a few vessels in his eyes as well. He is suffering from hyphema, and if he is not treated soon, he may be blind."

"Contact Mercy!" Mei ordered, lifting Dan in her arms. She was surprised by how light he was. Opening the door, she stumbled out, rushing to Winston's lab where the med bay waited. "Winston!" Mei shouted. "Winston, open the door!"

After a few moments, the ape opened the door. "What's wrong Mei? Are we under attack?" Looking down at her arms where Dan lay, Winston quickly took him from her, bringing him in effortlessly. "Come in, Mei. We'll contact Mercy."

"This was all my fault. I was having him look at something, and I forgot to warn him...and...and…"

"Mei, calm down," Winston instructed. "It does not appear his injuries are life threatening, so you need to calm yourself. Dan is tougher than we give him credit for sometimes."

As he laid Dan on the table, his breathing became more ragged. "What happened?" Tracer asked, zipping to their side to gaze down on him. "How did he become injured?"

"He was...working on our machine and it activated," Mei explained nervously. "I was distracted and I didn't realize what he was doing until it was too late."

"You were distracted?!" Tracer snapped. "What do you mean you were distracted?! How could you be so distracted that Dan took such a bad blow to the head?"

Mei trembled as she wrapped her arms around herself, tears beginning to form. Winston quickly put his massive hands on Tracer's shoulders. "Both of you need to relax. Mercy will be here soon, and then she'll treat Dan and it will be fine. Pointing fingers is the last thing we need."

With a huff, Tracer pulled from Winston's grasp, going to sit beside Dan. "Until she does, I'm sitting right here. I won't leave Dan's side."

"M-me too!" Mei promised. "I want to stay with him too!"

"Actually Mei, it would be better for you to inspect your machine," Winston explained. "If it activates again and alters the climate around us, it could draw unneeded attention to our position."

"But…"

One stern glare from Tracer was enough to make the climatologist take an uneasy step back before rushing from the room, her eyes full of tears. Returning to her lab, she slammed the door shut behind her, breathing heavily as she looked at her machine. She knew that this was all her fault.

Dan let out a groan, though with the sounds he heard, it was almost as if his head was underwater. Everything was muffled. He tried to open his eyes, only to find they were already open. Everything was pitch black. He began to panic before he felt someone's hand touch his. "M-mei?"

"Tracer," the voice warbled, correcting him. "How are you feeling Dan? Tell me what's going on in that big head of yours," she pleaded.

His heart pounded roughly in his chest as he began to hyperventilate. "I can't see. I can't see!" he cried. "Oh God, I can't see!" Tracer, unable to do anything else, simply threw her arms around her friend, hugging him tightly as he continued to sob.

To be continued...


	12. Chapter 12

Enraptured in Ice Ch. 12

 **AN: Hey everyone, sorry it took me so long to update. Simply put, I've been struggling with some personal issues, and I haven't had much time nor inspiration to write. I'm trying to speed up my publishing rate, I'm afraid it's something you'll just have to remain patient for. I'm glad if you're enjoying the story thus far. I wish you the best of luck in life and literature. -Kiba**

Time seemed to crawl by as Dan remained in the medical ward. The members of Overwatch were struggling greatly to contact Mercy. In the excitement of it all, Dan had completely forgotten that she would only respond to him: not that it mattered. He was blind, so he wouldn't be able to see her, and though he could partially hear, he doubted it would be enough to communicate with her effectively.

When a day had passed since the accident, he could hear everyone talking about him, or he at least assumed they were. What he did hear sounded as if he were listening to people talking underwater. That was why he nearly jumped out of his skin when he suddenly felt someone hug his arm tightly. "Oh my God, Dan...what happened, are you okay?" the younger voice asked.

He couldn't see her, but it wasn't difficult to tell who it was. "Hey Hana," he replied. "There was an accident was all. I wasn't paying attention and the machine I was working on hit me pretty hard."

She hugged him even tighter, and he could feel moist drops on his cheek. Hana was crying? For him? "I'm so sorry this happened," she told him, before her voice gained a hint of determination. "I'm going to take care of you though, okay? I don't care what I have to do! If you want me to read to you or make you food, it doesn't matter, just tell me and I'll do it. I promise!"

Dan was completely stunned by her declaration. "Thank you, I really appreciate that." There was a brief pause between the two before he cleared his throat. It felt so awkward, considering this was the first time they'd spoken since he brought her back from the airport. "Well, I guess this is karma, huh?"

"What are you talking about?" she chastised.

"For breaking up with you. You probably think I got what I deserve."

"Of course not! Why would you even say that?!" she argued. "Dan, break up or not, I care about you and I'd never wish this on anyone! Not even my worst enemy." Her hands slid down his arm to rest on his. Turning it over, he slipped his fingers between hers as he just lay there, a bandage over his eyes. "I'm staying right here," she stated suddenly.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I'm staying right here. I'm not leaving your side, understand? We don't have any important missions right now, and you'll need someone to look after you, so I will. I don't care if  
I'm bored to tears, but I'm not leaving you alone."

For a while, Dan remained silent, just keeping his eyes closed and his head tilted towards his lap. "You don't have to do that," he finally whispered.

"I want to."

"No, you don't," he retorted. "No one would want to sit around with a bunch of dead weight."

"You're not dead weight!" she protested. "You're injured. But it's okay, we're going to find someone to help you, even if Mercy won't. I don't understand why you're trying to push me away. I understand you don't trust me, but...do you really not like me so much that you'd rather be alone than have me be by your side?"

"It's not like that," he tried.

"What is it like?" When Dan didn't respond, Hana climbed into the bunk beside him, nudging him to make room. "You can tell me," she swore as he shifted over slightly. "I promise, I won't be mad. Is it because you want to ask out Mei?"

"No...I mean, I do but that's not…" His words stopped abruptly as Hana hugged his arm tightly and placed her head against his shoulder. With a sigh, he tilted his as well to nuzzle against her. He couldn't bring himself to tell her what happened. It wasn't that he didn't want to get caught. He didn't feel guilty about it so much as he was worried how badly it would hurt Hana.

"Using your injuries to garner sympathy?" A voice asked. This one I wasn't so sure about. "Typical. I see you did not heed my...advice."

The hand that was in Hana's tightened as he realized who was speaking. "Stay away from me!" Dan growled, pressing closer to the gamer. Pharah was a threat when he was able to see. He didn't want to know what she was capable of now.

"Dan?" Hana asked, surprised by my fearful reaction. "What's wrong? Who is this woman?"

"You must be Hana," she noted with a snort of derision.

Getting up from the bed, Dan's fingers desperately reached for the only person that he felt could keep him safe, but she simply moved to the other side, standing between her ex and the older woman. "I don't know who you are, but Dan is injured and you're causing him distress. Please leave."

"I wonder if you'd be so quick to defend him if you knew what he was keeping from you."

"I don't care. Leave, now."

It was simple for Dan to tell that she was lying. How could she not care about some secret he was hiding from her. "Fine," the older woman stated. "I will go. Though a word of warning, he is not the sort of man to be trusted. He's already betrayed you once. I would not give him the opportunity to do so again."

As Dan held his breath, he waited until her footsteps would recede from the room. Just as he was about to relax, he heard Hana call after her. "Wait. What do you mean he's already betrayed me once?" His heart pounded fiercely in his chest.

"Don't tell her," he cried, causing the room to fall silent. "Hana, please, you have to understand. I'm trying to…"

"He has had sex with another woman," Pharah interrupted.

"What?"

"With his Commanding Officer, no less. As you can see, he wished to keep it a secret from you."

An uncomfortable silence settled on the room until a soft voice spoke up again, full of pain. "Dan...is this true?" Hana asked. "Did you cheat on me?"

"No! I would never…"

"Hmmph, even now he is lying to you to save his own neck."

"No, I'm not! It's not like that!"

A pair of soft hands rested on Dan's cheeks turning him to face her. "So you didn't sleep with Mei?" she asked. Before he even opened his mouth, he knew she already had her answer.

"Yes," he confessed. "But please, let me explain...I didn't betray you."

Her touch quickly fell from him, and he could feel the hurt that was exuding from her. "How do I know you're telling the truth?"

"You and I had already broken up," he argued. "We weren't together anymore. I wasn't keeping it a secret to try to hide it. I was doing it because I didn't want to hurt you."

This time, the deeper voice was much closer. "Come Hana. Leave this monster to his own suffering. He will get his justice. They always do."

"That is it!" Dan snapped suddenly, causing the girls to stop. "What the hell is your problem?! I have done _nothing_ to you, Pharah! I don't know what game you're playing, but it ends here."

He carefully stood from the bed, his legs wobbling as he held tightly to its frame. "Dan, you shouldn't…"

"I don't care," he growled. "I'm not going to let this happen. Yes, Hana, I had sex with Mei. When I found out you had been using me, I was angry and I couldn't bear the thought that I'd let it happen. So I went to Mei, and I'm the one who initiated it. That was when I realized that you'd left to go back to South Korea, but I didn't want you to leave."

"Quit your barking, cur," Pharah said, but Dan wasn't ready to give up yet.

"I care about you still, Hana," he admitted. "Mei and I aren't together, understand? I know what I did wasn't right, but I didn't betray you. I betrayed myself. If I didn't care, do you think I would have run to stop you from leaving? Do you think I would have told Tracer to let you into Overwatch? Please, you have to believe me."

"Do not be foolish, Hana. He is still just trying to manipulate you further. When Tracer found out about Mei, she congratulated him. If he truly cared, do you think he'd have gone and bragged about this to his friend?"

Hana felt conflicted as she stood there, arms wrapped around her stomach and eyes pointed at the floor. She wanted to believe Dan, truly she did. She also knew, in her heart, that Pharah had a point. "You really hurt me, Dan," she whispered finally, her voice beginning to choke up. "When I tried to explain myself to you, you turned away from me and ignored me." He took a sharp breath. He knew she was right. "I told you I loved you, Dan! You were the first person I've ever told that to, regardless of who I was with and for what. I tried my best to redeem myself for what I did to you in the beginning, but you ignored me!" she shouted. "You just left me there, on the floor, in tears. You didn't even care to hear my side of it. So why should I listen to you now, huh?"

"Hana," he murmured, before he suddenly took a painful blow to his stomach that sent him crumpling to his knees.

"Dan," Hana cried out, running to me. "Pharah, what the fuck?!"

"You mustn't let him continue to speak. He will only use his words to twist your thoughts as he always has. You are smarter than this, Hana."

"Even still, you can't just hit him!" she shouted. "He's _blind_ for God's sake!"

"Do it," he suddenly said.

"What?"

"Hit me again!" he hissed, struggling to stand up. "I don't care what it takes. I'll let you wail on me all day if I have to, but I'm not going to let you convince Hana that I never cared! I loved her! I still care deeply about her, even if you don't believe it, so if this is what I have to endure in order for her to believe me, then DO IT AGAIN!"

"You are truly the stupidest man on the face of the planet," Fareeha tsked.

"Dan, you need to get back into bed," Hana tried, going to move him but he shrugged her off, taking a step forward and throwing his fist outward. It sailed through the air, just before he took another strike to the gut. "Dan!"

"Is that the best you've got?" he demanded. "Come on! Why are you hesitating now?! You didn't have a problem last time! You didn't even hesitate when you broke my leg and my ribs, so why are you holding back now?!"

"Stay down."

Dan swung again and again, missing each time. He didn't care if he hit her or not, but if she wasn't going to prove his feelings for Hana, than he'd have to make her do it. His knuckles barely managed to pass through Pharah's hair, before she suddenly landed a ferocious right hook on his jaw, sending him to the ground once more.

Spitting out the warm blood that had begun to ooze into his mouth, Hana quickly stepped between the two. "That's enough, both of you!" Turning to Pharah, her eyes gleamed fiercely. "You need to leave, now! This isn't any of your damned business, so butt out!" Switching to Dan, she quickly looped her arm under his, helping him to stand. "And you! You're getting your ass back in bed, now! I'm not going to watch you get your ass kicked because you think you're being some sort of saint for doing so!"

"But…!" he protested, just before she shoved him hard against the bed.

"BED! NOW!"

"Yes ma'am," he quickly whispered, doing as she instructed.

"You don't want to do this," Fareeha warned.

The petite girl marched straight up to the much taller woman, glaring into her eyes. "Dan is _my_ boyfriend," she seethed, her fist tightened in rage. "If you have a problem with him, then you have a problem with me. The next time you lay so much as a finger on him, I will not even hesitate to put a bullet in your skull, am I being clear?"

"Child…" she began, but Hana quickly drew her pistol and shoved it under Pharah's chin before she could react.

"DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?!" she roared.

Without another word, the older woman slapped aside her gun and turned to storm off, leaving Hana and Dan alone in the room. Dan could hear her breathing heavily as she slipped her weapon back into her holster and turned back towards him. "Hana?" he called softly.

"What, Dan?" she sniffed.

He held out his hand towards her. After a brief moment, he felt her fingers, so he grasped them and gently pulled her to his side. His touch ran up her arm to reside on her face where he felt the wetness of her tears.

"Please, stop," she pleaded. "I need to be angry with you right now, so please don't do this." He hesitated momentarily, before he caressed her cheek again, using his thumb to wipe away another tear that had begun to roll down her face.

"I'm sorry I didn't listen to you," he told her. "You have every right to be angry with me. I shouldn't have done what I did with Mei. Worse, I shouldn't have kept it from you. I was scared that if I told you, you wouldn't come back with me. I was angry at you, and I know I said we weren't friends...but I'm not ready to lose you."

"Why?" she whispered. "Why are you so concerned about me? I used you, remember? You don't want to be with me."

"I don't know what I want," Dan admitted. "But right now, I want you to stay here with me."

"You do?" she sniffled.

He nodded, scooting over to make room for her on the bed. For a moment, she hesitated. Then, she climbed in beside him, snuggling against his chest. "Hana, I really am sorry. This isn't how I wanted you to find out about this."

"I know. I don't know if I can forgive you, because it still hurts." Dan felt her lips brush against his cheek. "Even still, the thought was sweet. I appreciate you trying."

Suddenly, there was the sound of glass breaking, followed by a stinging sensation in the side of Dan's neck. He let out a grunt of pain before plucking the small vial from his neck.

"What? What's wrong?" Hana asked.

Holding it up for her to see, the darkness seemed to lift slightly from his eyes. The nanobots were repairing his eyes? "Mercy?" he wondered out loud, turning to look for any sign of the source of the vial.

"Mercy? What about her?" Her eyes widened as she gasped. "W-wait...Dan, did you…?"

"What? No! Eww. No, no. I swear to you. She's like my mom."

"Dan, she's around the same age as Mei," Hana pointed out.

"Look at this," he instructed, changing the subject by holding up the empty syringe. "Have you seen anything like this before?"

Taking it carefully from him, she examined it closely. "A dart? Where did you find this?"

"I just got shot with it," he explained.

"What?! Dan, we have to get Winston!" she exclaimed, going to get up, but he quickly stopped her.

"No, it's not a big deal."

"Dan, you just got _shot_! I think you're delusional. Maybe it was poison."

"I know what was in it," he sighed. "It was a dose of nanobots. I got shot by something similar when Pharah had broken my ribs. I don't know who it is, but whoever it is, they've been healing me. Even now, my eyesight is coming back, at least a little."

Hana's expression was highly conflicted. On one hand, she was overjoyed to find out that Dan wouldn't be blind for the rest of his life, on the other she really didn't want to let go of the fact he'd just been shot by some mysterious benefactor.

As he began to stir, she quickly rolled over on top of him, pinning him to the bed. "Dan, stop! You can't leave."

"What are you talking about? I can see now. There's no reason for me to stay hospitalized like this."

"Dan, you were still badly injured! You should wait for Mercy. What if you have an aneurysm or something?"

"Hana, I'm fine!"

"Please," she begged. "Just stay here. I'll forgive you, but only if you promise me you won't get out of bed." Immediately, Dan fell still.

"Really?" he whispered.

Hana was surprised that had worked. Did he really care that much about if she forgave him or not? Truth be told, while she was upset, she'd simply felt as if it were a minor slight, not some friendship ending crime. "I promise," she repeated.

He nodded, sagging back into the pillow. "Okay," he agreed. "I'll stay. I don't want to lose you."

"You're not going to lose me," she told him. "I don't want to lose you either. That's why I'm asking you to stay in bed. For me?"

"All right. For you."

* * *

Mei continued to tinker with the climate control machine. Having switched it off when Dan was first caught in it, she couldn't find anything inherently wrong with the machine. She'd been lucky that it hadn't killed him.

Inside, she felt many emotions, but the largest of them was shame. She was furious with herself for letting something like this happen to Dan. Tracer was too, and Mei knew that she deserved her wrath. Grabbing the wrench she turned and with a cry of anger hurled it across her lab to bounce off the far wall.

With her back pressed against the cabinet, she slowly sank to the ground, holding her knees to her chest. "Please, don't let Dan be blind," she whispered to no one in particular. "Please, don't let him suffer because I was distracted."

"Mei?" A voice called from the doorway. "Are you all right?"

"Fareeha?"

"Yes," she answered, coming to stand beside her. "Why are you troubled?"

"Dan's hurt. It's my fault."

Pharah let out an impatient scoff. "That idiot, again? Has every woman in Overwatch taken leave of their senses? Why is it that I am the only one who can see him for the problem that he is?"

Mei said nothing at first. "Dan's hard to accept," she finally agreed. "He's not a soldier. He's not a scientist, not really. He's not a doctor or a pilot or sharpshooter. He's...special."

"He is not so special," Fareeha disagreed, sitting down alongside Mei. "Plenty of men are disloyal and think only of themselves. Working in private security has taught me much of the life outside of what I was raised in. There are thousands, millions like Dan, all over the seems he has you wrapped around his finger too."

The climatologist looked at her in confusion. "I think you may be mistaken," she countered. "Dan isn't that sort of person."

"Of course he is! Who else would cheat on one he claimed to love with his commanding officer? Has he no respect for Hana? Has he no respect for _you_?!" The dark-skinned woman shook her head. "He may seem suave, Mei. But do you really think he wouldn't turn on you the instant he saw someone he liked better?"

The reaction that Mei had was not one that Pharah has expected. She began to giggled, covering her mouth to hide her smile. Soon she was laughing, unable to stop.

"What? Why are you laughing?"

"Dan, suave?" she snickered. "Are we talking about the same Dan? Dan's about as graceful as a hippo." Fareeha's brow furrowed in bewilderment. "I think I get what you're thinking. You saw him standing over you in your room and you expected he did it on purpose, right?"

"When I awoke, he was just standing there ogling me. How else am I supposed to believe?" she countered.

"I genuinely doubt that Dan was ogling you. More so that you probably startled him to the point where he froze in place. He was expecting _me_ because _I_ invited him to my room. He wasn't peeping or being a pervert. He was looking for comfort and instead found a complete stranger."

Pharah was completely shocked. "B-but...the other girl…!" she protested.

"Is a long story," Mei completed. "She used Dan to try to get into Overwatch, completely unaware that he wasn't actually even a member. Apparently, she used to do this sort of thing a lot. As soon as Dan found out, he confronted her, broke it off, and came to me. He was stressed and confused...I don't blame him for what happened. Hell, I went along with it, despite my better judgment."

"Tracer even said she was proud of him for sleeping with you!"

"Tracer has been trying to get us together for a long time. I'm certain that if she's 'proud' of him, she's more so that he had the confidence to actually try something with me. I can also tell you from first-hand knowledge that the only thing Dan feels about it right now is shame."

"Shame?"

"Dan's not a Cassanova, but he's a sweetheart. He's uncomfortable when it comes to sexual things. A one-night stand isn't something that he can even compute. To us it's typical, to him it's...well to him, it's unthinkable."

"No!" Pharah hissed. "I refuse to believe that my judgment could be so far off. I don't believe it, I _won't_ believe it!"

"I can see why you'd think that. If it were anyone other than Dan, I'd believe it, too. He's not like that though. He's a very simple man. With Dan, what you see is what you get. He doesn't play games or have hidden meanings. He's just...special." Mei still couldn't quite find the right word to describe him. "Do you know how I first met Dan?"

Sighing, Fareeha collapsed back against the cabinet in surrender. "How?"

"He pulled me out of a block of ice. I was cryogenically frozen. My entire team was dead, and I was the only survivor. He saved my life."

"I understand you feel a debt towards him but…"

"No, nothing like that," Mei quickly interrupted. "But two days after saving me, he confessed that he was in love with me. Needless to say, it was a bit of a shock. So, I pushed him away. I acted as if I wanted nothing to do with him."

"And?"

She fell quiet. "It hurt him. It hurt him really bad. Like I said, Dan is simple. He doesn't understand or live by hidden meanings and subtlety. He means what he says and he doesn't play games. He told me he loved me because he genuinely thought he loved me. And that scared the hell out of me. For two weeks, I ignored him, but for him it may as well have been two years."

"Still, you should not feel guilty. I know that right now he is presently curled up beside Hana."

"Wh-what?" Mei asked in shock. "He is?"

"Yes. I came to inform you originally. Perhaps he is not the 'sweetheart' you think he is."

"Maybe he's just confused…"

"Confused?" Pharah gave a derisive snort. "No, he is completely lucid as to who it is that's curled up beside him. If you do not believe me though, perhaps you should see for yourself."

Mei hesitated for a moment before shaking her head. "I can't."

"Why not?"

"I can't face him. I messed up. He's blind and it's all my fault."

"Your fault? How?"

"I wasn't focused enough. I let myself be distracted by him and I didn't realize the machine was one while he was working on it. So when he fixed it, it activated and made him blind."

"You mean he was reckless and because of that you blame yourself for whatever reason."

"No," she quickly protested. "He wasn't...I mean...he was, but he...I don't know!" Burying her face in her hands her chest heaved. 'I don't know anymore about anything, okay" I care about Dan, but I don't know if I love him. All I know is, what's happening now isn't working! People are just going to keep getting hurt."

"Well, if you wish for my advice," Fareeha said, standing back to her feet. "Separate yourself from him. He is nothing more than an anchor. He'll only serve to weigh you down. If your conscience needs further appeasement, Hana will not be leaving his side any time soon. This is your opportunity to make a clean break. Don't squander it."

Turning, she left Mei sitting on the floor, her knees pulled to her chest and her eyes closed in deep thought.

Meanwhile, across the compound, two figures stood in the shadows. One had his arms crossed over his chest as he leaned against a steel crate, the other crouched with a scope up to her eye. "You were right," she stated. "He is rather unique. Do you think this is why he was selected?"

"Don't know," Jack admitted, adjusting his visor. "All I know is, _something_ is going on with that kid. What are they planning?"

The much older woman lowered her rifle with a tired sigh. "They are not the only problem," she commented. "It is hard for a mother to see her once sweet daughter turned into this…"

"Monster?" Jack offered, causing her to shoot him a glare. He defensively held up his hands in apology.

"This cold-hearted individual. Was my death truly so crippling for her? I never wanted her in this life...I didn't want that for her at all."

"Fareeha is a strong woman," he protested. "You should be proud of your daughter. She's already the captain of her own squad."

"Strength means nothing if there is no compassion behind it," Ana disagreed. "You should know that, Jack. Or have you forgotten such romantic thoughts in your old age?"

"I never had them."

"Pssh, there is no need to be embarrassed Jack. You were always the sentimental type. You were one for heroics, whether you remember or not."

"I didn't bring you here for reminiscing. I brought you here to keep an eye on the kid."

"And have I not done so? I have mended his bones when they were broken and repaired his senses when they were dulled. What is so special about this young man anyway, hmm?"

"I already told you that."

"Yes, yes, but what is so special about _him_?"

"Well that is the question, isn't it?" he scoffed. "Part of the reason why we're even here in the first place."

"And the other part?" Ana questioned. He remained completely silent as a knowing smile crept upon her lips. "Ah, I see...now that is interesting."

"What?"

"You like this boy."

"Don't start, Ana."

"It stands to reason. It is why you ask that I continue to care for him, is that not so? Otherwise, it'd be more than beneficial to just let his chips fall where they may. But you, 'Soldier 76', have finally found someone that you actually like."

"Hey! What are you two doing here?!" Tracer demanded, having finally reached the source of the voices she'd been tracking. Both faces turned to regard her, causing her face to go pale. "No...How is that possible?!" she demanded, keeping her guns trained on the two intruders.

Despite that, her hands were trembling uncontrollably. Ana smirked turning to face her. "Hello, Lena. It has been some time. What's the matter? You look as if you've seen a ghost."

"You've been secretly hoping we'd be discovered just so you could use that one, haven't you?" Jack sighed. "Lena, turn around and go back to your room. Pretend as if you never saw us."

"I...I can't do that, sir!" she protested, starting to find confidence once again. "We all thought the two of you were dead! How can you have hid this from us for so long?"

"We have our reasons," Ana stated. "But he is right. Go back to your room and say nothing of this."

"You can't expect me to just keep quiet about all of this!" Tracer protested. "The rest of the team needs to know you're alive! Winston...Mercy...Oh God, Pharah...I can't even imagine how she'll react when she…"

Her words were cut off when with a swift whistle, Ana's gun fired a dart into Lena's throat. Her eyes went wide for a moment as her guns clattered to the ground from her grip. "We're really sorry about this dear," the sniper began, walking up to the quickly numbing pilot. Placing a finger on her forehead, she pressed gently, causing her to lurch back before collapsing to the ground in a heap. "But we can't have you saying anything just yet. You should have just left, Lena."

"Where are we going to put her?" Jack requested. "There aren't many places she won't be able to escape from."

Ana reached down, slowly unhooking Tracer's harness. As it came free from her body, she slung it over her shoulder before nodding to her partner. "Place her in the chrono chamber for now. She'll be unstable until it is time to reveal ourselves, then we'll simply give her back the harness and bring her back."

Hoisting the limp and flickering body of the young woman in his arms, Jack nodded, carrying her to the run-down chamber. No one had seen it in years, not since Winston had first anchored Lena to their time stream. Laying her in there, he stepped outside, shutting the door and locking it firmly.

* * *

Tracer let out a groan as she began to come to. How long had she been out? Her eyes opened and she found herself staring at a scene straight from her nightmares. The small padded room she'd come to know so intimately surrounded her once again.

"N-no," she gasped, wheeling around herself. Patting herself down, she found that her harness was gone and she began to breathe heavily as fear engulfed her mind. "No. No, no, no, no, no." She repeated it over and over again as she looked down at her hands.

They began to flicker, her flesh becoming translucent for a few moments before reappearing again. Turning she ran to the door and began pounding on it as hard as she could with her fist.

"NO! Please! I won't say anything, I swear! Please, you have to let me out!" she begged, her eyes beginning to water. "Please! Don't leave me in here!"

Her slams echoed through the abandoned corner of the compound, unheard by anyone. Even her screams seemed to carry through the metal hallways until finally, the suddenly came to an abrupt halt.

To be continued...


	13. Chapter 13

Enraptured in Ice Ch. 13

 **AN: As a guest reviewer requested, a quick explanation as to Pharah's feelings on Dan. It's true, she is being a stone cold bitch. However, for her it's a lack of understanding as to how Dan functions. The last time I did an AN response to a review, I mentioned that Dan has Asperger's Syndrome (though it's not explicitly stated), and because of that he's sometimes a little lacking in social finesse. Often, people who have had little to no experience with people who have Asperger's can perceive things they do as being rude or mean, thus causing retaliation. From the person who is the Aspergeree (not a real word), it seems like the lashback comes from nowhere, similar to how Dan view's Pharah's attitude towards him. For him, the fact that he accidentally saw her in a state of undress is something that completely slips his mind as to a potential reason for her dislike of him. Pharah feels as if this isn't something she should have to explain to him because that's a typical reaction of someone who's caught in a state of undress by a strange man at night. Because of this refusal to communicate between the two (Dan assuming she's just being mean and Pharah assuming Dan knows what he did wrong) their relationship won't progress, causing this hostility. I've seen it happen dozens of times at my job, and the worst part is when two people with lacking social skills (i.e. Dan and Pharah) butt heads, often they won't even entertain the possibility that there** _ **was**_ **a misunderstanding. It's showing that Dan struggles to empathize with people who are mean to him initially and Pharah's lack of understanding (or unwillingness to understand) for Dan. Sorry for that really long response.**

 **So I know that a lot of you have probably been pretty concerned about where I've been and I greatly appreciate that. I've mentioned before that I've been going through some financial struggles. Things are finally starting to turn around now though, and in my free time I've been doing mostly work on my new original novel: Oracle. I do still need beta readers for that, should anyone be interested in my original work. Just add me on Skype: Kiba Vulpus Elunal. Let me know you want to read it and I'll send you it, as well as any other original stuff I've worked on (I've got two other novels finished). Thanks again for all of your patience and support everyone, it seriously means a lot to me and I can't believe how fast this story is growing. I know you guys are probably wondering about Reinhardt, Hanzo, Genji, and the other members of Overwatch that haven't been mentioned, but I promise, they'll show up soon enough. Needless to say, it may be a little while before my next chapter, so again, sorry about that. I wish you the best of luck in life and literature though, as always. Thanks again. -Kiba**

"Athena, run sweep for Tracer," Dan stated.

"Dan…"

"Do it," he ordered. The computer let out an annoyed, but complacent beep as it began running a scan of the complex in hopes of locating the missing pilot. Again, the search came up empty. "Damn it," he muttered under his breath. It'd been almost a week now since she'd vanished. Athena had swept the base and all of the world, but there had been no sign of his missing friend. It was as if she'd just dropped off the face of the Earth. "What about Mei?" he asked.

After a few moment, Athena returned with a readout. "Operative Mei is presently still located in Li Jiang. She continues to broadcast her biometrics, indicating she is in good health, though still does not answer her communicator."

She'd disappeared, too. Dan felt like he knew who to blame for that as well. His eyes lifted up to one of the monitors to see Pharah sitting on Mei's bed, her gun disassembled and strewn on a towel as she cleaned it.

"Hey love. Any luck?" Hana whispered in his ear, wrapping her arms around his neck and placing a kiss on his cheek. He nuzzled back against her affectionately.

"None thus far," he replied. "Tracer still has no biometrics, no tracker, nothing. She's not in the base, not in the world, not even in space. It's like she..." he paused for a moment in thought. "Like she doesn't exist."

"I know that look," she commented. "You're thinking about something. What's going through your head?"

"Her chrono displacement. It's possible that something happened and she ended up vanishing from our time stream. If that's the case," his gaze lowered as he placed his hands on his head. "Then she could be lost forever."

"Don't talk like that," Hana chided. "Until we find a body, she's still technically out there somewhere. You can't give up hope yet."

He remained completely silent as she stood behind him, massaging his shoulders. It felt nice after he'd spent so many hours in his chair, just staring up at the screens. It'd been the same thing every day lately. There also was still no word from Mercy, despite her promise that she'd come if Dan ever asked her for help. Now, he needed her more than ever.

"Dan," Winston grunted, swinging upward to the platform. "I know you are concerned, but we need to keep working. Pharah is getting anxious about her suit, and truth be told, if Talon got a hold of it, it could be disastrous."

Dan didn't reply, but Hana turned to Winston with a slight smile. "Give us just a few more minutes, Winston, then we'll start following some leads. Have you found anything on your end?" The lab assistant was grateful that she'd spoken up for him, because truthfully, he had a difficult time facing anyone other than her. It was bad enough that Pharah shot death glares at him whenever he came within view, but he was almost certain that the reason Mei had left was because of something she said to her.

"Not much," he admitted. "I've had a few operatives out in the field patch in to say they hadn't heard any word from Talon, but that was pretty much it. Jesse has been working with the Americans to see if they've heard anything, but it seems that the two men they hired are more destructive than they are intelligent."

"Our tax dollars at work, I guess," Dan muttered. "Winston, hypothetically, if Tracer's chrono displacement began acting up again, say something happened to her harness, how could we lock onto her coordinates?"

"That depends," the ape mused. "Her harness should keep her anchored to the timeline, even if it malfunctions or is turned off. She'd have to be away from it for some time before she vanished, however, her body would still release chronological distortions every few hours for months at least. Why?"

"She hasn't shown up on any tracking devices," Hana explained. "Including GPS and biometric scans of the world."

Winston's brow furrowed as he hobbled closer to the computer, pushing aside Dan's office chair to begin typing away at the keys. "Athena, run a scan for Tracer's harness instead. See if her core is still online. If it is, maybe it'll give us a clue as to where she's gone."

With an obedient chirp, her robotic voice came back. "Winston, it seems her harness is functioning perfectly fine, according to the scans. I'm picking it up on my sensors, meaning it is still somewhere within Watchpoint: Gibraltar." Dan stood up quickly his eyes brightening with excitement.

"She must be here then!" he cheered, turning and throwing his arms tightly around his mentor. "Yes! I knew she couldn't be dead," he cried, running to one of the many poles that led from the second floor to the first.

"Dan, where are you going?" Hana asked as he wrapped a leg around the metal rod and began sliding down.

"Athena, locate the origin of her harness' signal! I'm going to go see if I can find any clues." As his wrist communicator with the computer system beeped in understanding, he ran out of the lab, ignoring Hana's question.

"So much for Pharah's suit," Winston commented with a 'hmmph'.

The young gamer looked at him with a sigh. "Can you blame him? His two best friends have disappeared with no reason at all, and this is after Pharah has treated him so poorly and tried to make me abandon him. If I were in Dan's shoes, I wouldn't want to help her either."

"It's not about what we want or don't want," Winston huffed. "Our job is to help everyone who comes to us in need. For her mother's sake, we should work to assist her."

"Tell you what," Hana offered. "Give me the info you have and I'll check it out myself. It shouldn't take too long, and Dan could use a bit of good news."

"I don't like the thought of you going out to investigate without back up," the scientist stated. "Right now, we don't have anyone we can spare except for Dan, which is why I was going to come get him to tag along with you."

Hana frowned for a moment before nodding in understanding. "Okay, I'll talk to him tonight. Maybe I can convince him to go with me tomorrow. I know he'll probably fight it, but I have ways of making him behave," her eyes gleamed mischievously as she giggled.

"Spare me the details."

"Not to worry, sir. I don't kiss and tell."

* * *

Dan stared intently at the screen on his forearm, following the small arrow that indicated the direction of the harness' core. It was getting closer, and he could feel it in his bones that he'd find some evidence here about what happened to Tracer.

Ducking behind an old alley way amid the junk and scrap, he paused as a metallic object rolled in his path. Bending down, her picked it up curiously to find it was a helix rocket. Where had this come from? The arms warehouse was on the other side of the complex.

Turning around quickly to see if anyone was present, he could see nothing in the dim light, but far off he was sure he could hear a voice. "Athena," he whispered, "do a scan of nearby proximity. Any life forms?"

"Scans show two life forms," she explained. "Both are registered members of Overwatch."

"It must be Winston and Hana," he mused to himself. He was surprised that sound could carry so far through the halls. Stepping further into the shadows, he continued watching the map carefully until in the dimness, he could see a blinking blue light. "Tracer," Dan gasped, rushing to the small metallic harness that lay carelessly draped on a shelf.

He picked it up, running his fingers over it affectionately. This was definitely hers, which meant that she hadn't just vanished. Someone had taken her. Was it Talon? No, he would have noticed some kind of struggle about if they managed to fight her. She wasn't the sort to go down easily.

Slinging the harness over his shoulder, he continued moving through the dark hall. This time, when the voices came, he was certain he'd heard them. They were quiet, but he could make out a man and a woman speaking. "Are you sure about this, Jack?" the woman asked. "It's been a week, with no signs to corroborate your evidence."

"Certain," the man grunted in a familiar voice. "This intel is good, I found it myself. It was definitely _him_. They're biding their time for something, but the question is what are they waiting for?"

Who in the world were they talking about? Dan strained to listen further until a loud _THUNK_ came to his right side, causing him to jump a few feet in the air. Turning to look at the source, he saw Tracer's face, stained with tears as she cried out to him in muffled words. Here image flickered for a moment then disappeared. "Tracer!" he shouted. "Don't worry, I'll get you out, Tracer!" He began tugging hard at the wheel on the door to free her. Who'd locked her in here? They should have known Tracer was afraid of confined spaces!

Just as it came loose, he fell to the ground, narrowly avoiding syringe that implanted in the door with a loud crack from the barrel of a gun. "Curse my old age," the woman's voice said, now much closer.

Dan looked up to see a smooth black helmet, hidden behind a scope that was now leveled towards him with a guidance visor glowing inside of it. He quickly dove to the side, avoiding another shot before getting behind the heavy metal door for cover and drawing his pistol. He didn't know who this woman was or why she wasn't showing up on the scanner, but he wouldn't let her get away with hurting his friend.

"Jack," she shouted. "We have company!"

"Already on it," a familiar gruff voice called beside her before Dan felt the door slam into him with explosive force. The man was shooting rockets at him! The young lab assistant was grateful that these old chambers were built to withstand bombs.

Quickly peering from cover, Dan fired a retaliation at the pair, sending them behind the steel shelves and tables that had been stored there. "Who are you?" he demanded, as bullets pelted his refuge once again.

"Stop shooting, kid! This is for your own good!" The man boomed.

"Yeah, I've heard bullets are great for your health," Dan scoffed, as he began to rummage through Tracer's harness for her pulse bombs. When he found them, he had to resist the urge to grin.

"You don't know what you're doing," the man warned him.

"Oh, I know _exactly_ what I'm doing," he shot back, before arming the pulse bomb. Turning the corner, he hurled the small discus like device between the two before taking cover. The pair's eyes went wide as they began to run, but with a concussive blast, they were both sent forward onto their faces with a painful groan.

Dan quickly ran to them, grabbing their weapons and backing away to a safe distance. It seemed like they were both out cold, but he wasn't about to check twice. Instead, he returned to the chamber door to toss in Tracer's harness.

"Come on, Lena," he muttered in desperation. "Come on, you're a tough girl, you can do this. Pull yourself back to this timeline. I'm here, you have to come back to me." There was nothing, causing Dan's heart to sink. It was entirely possible that she was gone for good, he knew, and the thought was breaking his heart.

Hana said he had to stay hopeful, and he desperately wanted to, but he also knew after long enough here that sometimes, hope just wasn't enough. The air in the chamber was still and musty. It was caked in dust as if it hadn't been used in years. But then, a distortion began to waver in the aether.

"Yes!" he urged. "You can do it, Lena! You can do it! You're Tracer! Come on!"

He could see a hand starting to form, followed by his friend's face, a determined expression planted there as she stretched through the void, attempting to just touch her anchor. Dan would have ran in and handed it to her, if not that he feared even a breath could send her back into the nothingness.

Her fingers reached further, further, just another inch or so before it touched the cool metal of the harness, and with a blue shimmer, it began to restore color to her hand. The blue energy swirled upward like a spark at the end of a fuse, dragging Tracer's body back through time and space to where her best friend was now waiting for her return. When she was fully formed, she collapsed with a gasp, shaking like a leaf and sobbing uncontrollably.

"Lena!" Dan cried, running to her and embracing her tightly. He hugged her close, and she returned the gesture, bawling into his neck and soaking his skin with her salty tears.

"Dan, I was so scared," she whimpered. "I thought I was gone for good. Please, don't ever let them take me, please. I never want to be locked away again, promise you won't let it happen again." She continued to babble on in his arms as he just held her there. His own tears were coming now, as he reassuringly stroked her back.

"Shh, it's okay" he hushed her gently, pressing his cheek against hers. "Cheer up, love. The cavalry's here now, okay? I'm right here." His words made her smile slightly as she clung to him.

"Thank you, Dan. I know I've never told you this, but I love you so much. You know that, don't you? You know that I love you?"

"Yeah," he whispered to her. "I love you too, Tracer. I love you very much." After another few moments, he helped the weakened pilot to her feet and strapped into her harness before leading her out.

Looking at the two who'd attacked him, Dan was relieved to hear their groaning still. They were out of it, and better, not dead. He had many words for them, and probably a few blows as well. They'd subjected his 'sister' to her greatest nightmare, and whatever their reason may be, he would ensure they paid for it.

"Stay here," he instructed her, moving to look at them as she wrapped her arms around herself in an attempt to stop her shivering. Walking to them, he recognized the man as the one he'd been advised by when helping Mercy operate on Mei. "Why you?" Dan asked himself, going to his tactical visor and removing it from his face.

The thing clattered from his hands as he stared into the face of the long dead Jack Morrison, the hero of Overwatch. That was impossible! Jack was dead, he knew it! Dan had seen his grave, he'd watched the newsreels of his funeral, there was no way he was alive!

His eyes slowly turned to the woman who lay beside him, before he swallowed nervously. With a shaky hand, he reached her facemask and plucked it from her, causing a single grey lock to tumble out from under her hood.

Staring into the dark brown face of the woman, an eyepatch strapped over her face, he found himself staring at another ghost. "Ana Amari," he murmured in awe. She had died as well, after a lethal bullet wound to the eye. This was Pharah's mother, two ghosts lying side by side before him, and yet he still couldn't believe it. Grasping their limp hands, he placed their thumbs to his scanner. "Athena, run fingerprint scan and identify."

"The fingerprints belong to Ana Amari and Jack Morrison respectively." This is why she kept saying there weren't any intruders in the base! Ana and Jack were still technically Overwatch operatives.

"Dan?" Tracer called to me. "Are they dead?"

"No," he assured her. "Just unconscious." It was better if she didn't know who they were. Dan didn't want to traumatize her further by exposing her to a shock so quickly. Putting their masks back on, he retrieved a set of pulse manacles that he kept on him. Sitting them back to back in the chamber, he handcuffed them to one another so he could question them once sure that Tracer was safe. "Come on," he urged her, returning to her side and wrapping an arm around her shoulders, "we've missed you greatly."

When the two returned to the lab, Winston and Hana looked up at him in shock. "Lena?" Winston gasped, "What happened to you?" She opened her mouth to speak, but Dan quickly pat her hand to indicate she didn't have to.

"She's a bit shaken up," he explained to the two. "I found her locked in the old chrono chamber without her harness."

"Come on, Tracer," Hana urged taking her hand and leading her to a chair. "Let's get you a seat, okay? Do you want anything to drink or eat?"

"W-water," she nodded, sending the young girl off to go and collect it.

"I'll be damned," Winston murmured.

Dan walked up beside him and nodded towards his office. "We need to talk," he said, glancing over the ape's shoulder to his friend before adding, "privately."

The scientist followed his gaze before nodding and leading the way to his office. Closing the door, Winston turned to his assistant. "Okay, what do we need to discuss?"

"The two who locked her up...they shouldn't be alive," he explained vaguely. "It was Jack Morrison and Ana Amari."

"What? That's impossible, Dan!"

"I know! Worse, they fired at me when they saw me trying to let Tracer out. Jack Morrison is the one who's been breaking into all of the Watchpoints and stealing weapons and tech. _He_ ' _s_ Soldier 76."

"No, no. That's impossible," Winston grumbled, his nostrils flaring as he snorted hot air. He began to pace the room, frustrated and confused. "They died. They both died, I'm certain of it! You must have been mistaken, Dan."

"I was _not_ mistaken."

"Well that or you're seeing ghosts! The dead do not come back to life!" Winston roared, before realizing his volume and lowering himself. "Apologies, Dan. I did not mean to shout at you."

"I have proof," he replied, pressing a few buttons on his wrist display to show a screen containing the results from Athena's fingerprint scan. "See? It's them. It has to be."

"Maybe it's a glitch," Winston grumbled in denial.

"I also have them handcuffed in the old chrono chamber."

"You're kidding!" the scientist gasped.

"What is it you two are discussing?" a voice asked from the doorway. Wheeling about, Dan and Winston gazed into the dark piercing eyes of Fareeha. "I heard you use my mother's name," she hissed, glaring at Dan. "For your sake, you'd be wise not to utter it again."

That was when she saw the screen showing her mother's portrait beside Jack Morrison. "What is this?" she demanded. "Is this your idea of a sick joke?!"

"Your mother and Jack Morrison kidnapped Lena," Dan uttered coldly. Even after a week, he was still at odds. She hadn't tried to convince Hana to abandon him again, though be it from Hana's threat or a simple disinterest, Dan wasn't sure.

"You insolent little…" she began, raising her hand to slap him across the face before Winston stepped in.

"Enough," he ordered. "Both of you! Dan, until I can look into this for myself, I don't want to hear another word about Ana or Jack."

"But…" he began.

"Not another word!" he shouted, his chest heaving angrily. "And Fareeha, you would be wise not to forget that you are a _guest_ here. Dan's report to me is not of any concern of yours, and were it I would promptly bring it up to you."

She said nothing at first before glaring at Dan and muttering under her breath as she left, "Bidek nake bi-Asyut krake." Dan's wrist device chirped at the detection of the foreign language.

"Oh, real mature!" he shot back as she slammed the door behind her. "Can you believe this?" he asked Winston, showing him the screen. "She told me I needed a good fucking with a shovel handle! What the hell? It's bad enough she scares off my boss, then she's trying to get Hana to stop being my friend. What is her problem?"

"Actually, about that," Winston replied, clearing his throat. "We need you to travel to China."

"Really?" Dan asked. "But...what about…"

"I'll look after Tracer," he swore, "but right now, you need to go and bring Mei back. A powerful storm has been brewing over Brazil, and without her climate device, we can kiss that country goodbye. You need her to complete it."

"But, what if she doesn't want to see me?" he replied, Dan's gaze lowering to his feet. "I haven't seen her since the accident. She might even hate me."

Winston adjusted his glasses. "Normally, I'd send an operative to reclaim her, but seeing as how Tracer is out of commission, Jesse is in America, and Hana and her's relationship is...rocky...I'm afraid you're my only option. I've already purchased you a ticket, your plane leaves in a couple of hours."

"Yes, sir," Dan saluted before running off to pack his things for the trip. It was a long way to China, and Dan was excited to see his boss again. As kind as Hana had become, he'd discovered something about himself, and he had no intention of just letting Mei go.

* * *

Halfway around the world, in a private office she'd leased, Mei continued working on the device she'd brought with her from Gibraltar. It was very slow going without Dan's assistance, and there had been a few times where she'd burned out parts of the device and had to replace them completely, or when she'd touched a specific chip, causing it to short.

After the fifth failed attempt to slide in the temperature regulation chip that would ensure it wasn't boiling hot rain that began falling from the skies, she threw the small bit of plastic into the trashcan. Sinking into her chair with disgust, she placed her chin on her arms, gazing to the small picture of Dan that she had on her desk.

Okay, so maybe it was stupid of her to bring it along, but she knew that if she missed him too much, she'd end up going back. She'd hoped the picture would help to prevent that. She was wrong. "Don't look at me like that, Dan," she chided to the portrait, before placing it face down on the desk. "This is good," she told herself. "This way, I can keep working in peace, and not get distracted. It's a good thing!"

A knock at the door interrupted her monologue however. Glancing down at her watch, she found that time had passed faster than she intended. It was almost 1:00 AM. Who could possibly be disturbing her so late?

Her heart began to pound nervously. Had Talon somehow tracked her down? One of her primary concerns when she left Gibraltar was that she'd be excluded from any kind of back up. Reaching into her desk, she grabbed her gun and held it in front of her cautiously.

Moving to the viewfinder, she placed her eye up to it to see Dan standing there. "How the hell did he find me?" she squeaked.

"It wasn't hard," he replied through the door. "All I did was ask where I could find the most beautiful woman in China."

Mei turned beet red. He could hear her through the door? She had thought he was half deaf. Opening the door slowly, she peered out. "What is it, Dan? Why are you here?" she asked softly.

"For you, obviously," he replied. "Can I come in, or will I have to hold a boombox over my head at the bottom of the tower?"

Her eyes turned back to look at her lab which was, more or less, a huge mess. It had also doubled as her living quarters and in her pining, she'd often just strip from her garments, only to leave them on the floor until laundry day. "I...I n-need to cl-clean," she insisted, but Dan just smiled at her.

"It's fine," he assured her. "I don't care if it's a mess."

She nodded in surrender before standing aside and allowing the door to swing open more. Immediately, Dan had moved to her, scooping her in his arms and kissing her lovingly. For a moment, she lost herself in the kiss. How many nights had she dreamt of their escapades back in Gibraltar?

It was silly, she reasoned, for her to fantasize about Dan as if she were a teenage boy over his first crush, but even still she welcomed the dreams with open arms, even if they did only serve to make her miss her assistant even more.

However, as she savored the feeling of his lips on hers, memories replayed of the way his eyes and ears had bled when he collapsed to the ground, the way Tracer had shouted at her, blaming her for Dan's injuries. Despite how happy she was to see him, she pulled away from him, pressing on his chest to push him from her. "Dan, I can't…" she whispered.

"What's wrong?"

"I hurt you," she reminded him. "I made you blind and deaf."

"And, I'm better now," he scoffed. "Clean bill of health, totally patched up. Well, not completely," he chuckled, adjusting his new eyeglasses.

Mei hadn't even realized he was wearing them, but now that she did, she could feel her body stirring. He looked even better with glasses on. "Dan," she whispered. "I'm glad you're okay, but that doesn't change that I…"

"Did absolutely nothing wrong," he interrupted her. "I should have checked to ensure the machine was off. That's safety rule number one when working with any device. What happened wasn't your fault."

"Yes it was. I was distracted, otherwise I would have noticed the machine was on."

He frowned. "Mei, please don't do this," he begged.

"Don't do what?"

"This. You're blaming yourself so you're pushing me away. I don't want that, please."

She let out a huff before grumbling, "Not that it matters. I know you're back with Hana."

"What?"

"Fareeha told me everything. I know you and Hana were cuddled up together in your hospital bed. Well, I won't stand for it. I'm not going to let you start some harem with the two of us. Next thing you know you'll drag poor Tracer into the mix."

"How can you even say that?" he gasped. "Mei, you know me! I'm not like that at all!"

"So she wasn't laying in your bed?" she accused.

"Well, yes...but it wasn't like that, honest! She was protecting me!"

"From what?!" Mei argued.

"From Fareeha!"

"Fareeha said…"

"Screw Fareeha!" he snapped, causing Mei to fall silent. "Don't you get it, Mei? You're just making things to be upset about now. You're looking for a reason to get away from me. Why? Do you not want to be around me?"

She meekly twiddled her thumbs, sitting on her bed and unable to meet his gaze. "I do," she admitted.

"Do you trust me?"

"Yes."

"Then stop trying to play the hero and protecting me. I'm a full-grown man, Mei. I'm glad you watch out for me, but it's not yourself that you have to watch out for." His hand rested on her knee, causing her to blush as she stared into his eyes.

"I know that," she answered. "I've tried, but I just can't help it. I care about you Dan, and I can't stand to see you hurt. Especially when it's my fault."

His hand began to slowly stroke her leg, flustering her even more as they spoke. "It wasn't your fault," he repeated. "You can't save me from everything, you know?"

She nodded silently as his hand continued to travel up her leg, slipping into her inner thigh and sending strange tingles through her body. Almost against her will, she spread her legs a little further, allowing his touch to slip there to stroke her pubic mound through her house pants.

"Please, Mei...you know how I feel about you. And I know how you feel about me. We don't have to play these games where we dance in circles around one another." As if to accent his words, he too began to stroke small circles over her crotch. Her body shuddered as she began to feel feverish. "I love you, Mei. Will you let me prove it?"

"Oh God, yes," she panted, turning towards him to grasp him and passionately press her lips against his. She moaned into his kiss as his hand continued stroking her. How long had she wanted this? How many nights now had she stayed up fantasizing about the way he touched her and wishing that her own touch felt the same?

His other hand squeezed her plump breast, drawing a gasp from his lover as she slowly closed her eyes to enjoy his touch more fully. He was exceptional, she decided, because while he was always gentle, he knew how to put in just enough roughness to make her mind do somersaults. She needed this, more than she needed him ever before.

She surged forward, using her superior strength to shove him onto his back. Her lips didn't leave his once as she left affectionate scratches along his chest, her legs straddling his waist so she could feel his bulge rising with every pump of blood beneath her.

The two of them parted as they helped one another out of their clothes, Mei's hunger driving her into a wild lustful frenzy that she'd never before experienced. "I couldn't stop dreaming about this," she purred, using her arms to press her breasts together for his pleasure. "I was beginning to worry that something may be wrong with me from all the ways I fantasized about you taking me."

"Nothing could ever be wrong with you, Mei. You're an angel sent from heaven. You're perfection," he swore to her gyrating his hips beneath her as he reached to playfully pinch her nipples. "But while we're on the subject of fantasies, which one would you like me to fulfill?"

Her cheeks again burned from her blushing as she slowly swayed her hips, moving lower along his body until she was near his crotch. "I really wanted to try this," she explained timidly, wrapping her massive mammaries around his tender organ. The heat alone from it felt wonderful between her tits, but she wanted to make sure that he was pleasured too.

"Oh man," he gasped, stroking her hair lovingly. "What did I do to deserve such a treat?"

"You were a wonderful man," she whispered, leaning down to flick the very tip of his cock with her rough, wet tongue. He leaned his head back, lifting his hips to try to feel more, but she just giggled, enjoying the thought of teasing him.

She squeezed her tits together around his cock, slowly moving them up and down his shaft as she stared into his beautiful eyes. She could feel it twitching for her between her tits, and that managed to excite her even more.

"Does it feel good?" she asked, eyes shining brightly as she continued rising and falling as a slow pace. "I've never really done this...before."

"It feels wonderful," he moaned, stroking her hair over and over again. "God, your love pillows are so soft and warm. I can't wait to be able to cum all over them."

He was talking so dirty, she noted. It was strange to hear him say such things, but she found herself hanging on every syllable. Every time she sank lower, she'd allow his tip to press between her lips parting them slightly so she could give his dick small affectionate kisses.

"You know, I wouldn't mind giving you some attention, too," he whispered to her. She smiled, adjusting herself so she was laying upside down on his chest. As soon as she continued her titfuck, she could feel his tongue probing her folds.

"Oh, Dan," she groaned happily, pressing her hips back against his tongue to feel it inside of her. "Please, don't stop."

Gripping her wide hips, he speared her on his flexible pink muscle, lapping at the juices of her arousal. She could hear him eagerly slurping from her pussy, which only served to make her even more drenched than before.

She began to follow suit on his cock, sucking it affectionately and lowering herself with every inch he pressed inside of her with his tongue. When he pulled out his tongue, she whined on his cock before he began to stroke her clit with it, causing her to shudder in bliss.

Her body screamed for more from him as she took him further and further into her mouth. His head tickled the back of her throat eliciting a pleasurable purr from her lungs. She sucked and sucked as he lashed wildly at her love button, and just as she could feel her thighs trembling, a loud knock at the door echoed in her ears.

Mei jolted awake, her panties damp and her head swimming with booze. It had only been a dream? She let out a whine as she sank back into her pillow. Turning her head to the side, she looked at the partially completed machine, with a few bottles of booze scattered here and there around her room. She _was_ an absolute mess, she knew. Her latest dream proved it. Even still, she couldn't bring herself to go back.

Another rapid series of knocks showed that at least one aspect of the dream was real. Slipping on a pair of house pants over her panties, she made her way groggily to the door. There was more knocking. Her head was starting to hurt from the sound now. "Wo lai," she groaned to the person on the other side grasping the door handle and jerking it open.

Her eyes went wide as she saw Dan standing sheepishly outside of her door, suitcase in hand. "Hello, Mei...can I come in?" She immediately slammed the door shut, before the knocking came again. She quickly returned to the door, opening it again to find Dan with a frown this time. "I'm sorry if I upset you by being here, Mei...but this is really important. Please let me in?"

She closed her eyes, rubbing them in an attempt to inspire lucidity in herself, but when she replaced her glasses, she was again staring at her lab assistant. Maybe this wasn't a dream. "Dan, are you really here? Thish isn't a dream right?"

He turned a bright red at her question, looking about confused before noticing the contents of her room. "Oh my God, Mei...how much have you had to drink?" he asked. He pushed past her, closing the door carefully.

"If we're going to have shex, we'll have to keep it down," she slurred, pointing to her bed. "The neighborsh get upset when there'sh too much noishe."

"Jesus, Mei," Dan tsked. "All right, to bed with you. We need to get you sobered up. Tomorrow morning we can talk business. I'll just sleep on your couch, okay?"

"There'sh enough room on the bed," she hiccuped. "We could both just shleep there...together. Get it? Shleep together?"

"Yes, yes, I get it," he sighed placing his hand behind her knees and scooping her into his arms.

"I feel like a princessh," she giggled.

"You won't tomorrow, I imagine," he replied laying her in the bed and tucking her in.

"Aren't you shupposhed to be blind?" she asked him, moving to cup his cheek. Her intoxication however caused her to simply put her hand over a majority of his face. She began wiggling her fingers on her other hand. "How many fingersh am I holding up?"

"Shh," he hushed her, stroking her hair. "Get some sleep, Mei. We can talk in the morning, all right?"

"I won't shleep unless you lay next to me. That'sh why I haven't been able to lately. I have to drink until I passh out, so I can keep dreaming about you."

Dan hesitated for a moment, before finally nodding in agreement. Remaining fully clothed, he slid beside her, wrapping his arms around her and holding her close. A big goofy smile spread across her face and, true to her word, it was only a few seconds before she was sound asleep.

To be continued...


	14. Chapter 14

Enraptured in Ice Ch. 14

 **AN: Hey everyone, still working on my original book, Oracle. I'm glad everyone's been enjoying this story thus far, and I hope you continue to read on. I've started to play ranked on the PS4 and I'm presently in Platinum (I'd be higher if people would stop leaving games T-T). I hope you guys continue to enjoy. -Kiba**

Jesse let out a low growl as he straightened his hat, following the two men through the Arizonedesert. He couldn't believe his mission was taking him so far out of the way. It didn't even make sense to him! The men the Americans hired weren't soldiers or mercenaries, they were hardly better than a pair of thieves. They weren't even American!

"Oy, why you starin' at us like that cowboy?" the smaller man demanded, turning back to flash him a jester like grin. "Ye ain't be fantasizin' about my friend here, are ya?"

The larger man whom he referred to turned to regard Jesse through his gasmask. Even without being able to see his features, McCree could tell that he was still contemplating just stabbing him with the giant hook he carried on his person. "You said that you heard rumors about a Talon stronghold here?" he asked, ignoring the smaller one's question.

"Eh? Wussat?"

The big man let out a wheezing cough.

"Oh! Right! Yeah, I heard that them Talon folks be sittin' out here."

Just as Jesse was about to question him further, his communicator let out an irritating beep. Sighing to himself, the cowboy glanced at the screen only for Dan's face to suddenly appear. "What do you want, kid?" he grumbled impatiently.

"Oh, sorry Jesse. Is now a bad time?"

"Not if this is important."

Junkrat scratched his head before leaning over to elbow his companion. "Ey. Didya know cowboy had a rugrat?" His partner remained silent simply continuing to stare at the man. "Yeah, me neither. Never thought he'd be the fatherly sort."

"Mei is...well, she's incredibly intoxicated," Dan explained in a hushed tone. "Right now she's fast asleep, but Winston needs us to work on the device for another mission. I need a way to sober her up quickly."

"And you called me because…?"

"I...assumed you'd have more experience," Dan explained nervously. Jesse gave a sigh.

"A glass of water, whole thing, and some aspirin. Any other questions?"

"Yeah, have you heard from Mercy lately? I've been trying to get in touch with her but she hasn't been responding. I'm really worried and last I heard on the news feeds she was heading to America. Just thought I'd ask if you'd seen her."

"Sorry, kid. Can't say I have. Looks like you're just out of luck for the time being. Focus on your mission at hand. Worry about the doc' later."

"Who's this then?" Junkrat asked, peering over Jesse's shoulder. "Wow, your son looks nothin' like ya. Are you sure he's yours? Maybe your girl has some extra on the side."

"Mind yer own business," Jesse growled shoving him away, "and he ain't my son. He's just a kid who works with me, now if ye don't mind…"

"Oh, McCree! One more thing!" Dan called out, causing him to let out a frustrated groan.

"Damn it, kid! This better be important!"

"Head back to base. Winston's orders."

Jesse frowned for a moment. "But he didn't…"

"Maybe your reception is bad out there. But it is _very_ important that you get back to base, right away. Understand?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm goin'. But just remember kid, you're not my boss, it's the other way around. I'll see you back at Watchpoint, Talon's stronghold will just have to wait for now, I guess. Besides, they can't be doin' too much way out here anyway."

"Good. I'll see you then."

Jesse hung up on the call with a frown. Dan had been acting strangely just then. It wasn't like him to give commands. Not to mention that if reception had been bad, how would he have contacted him from China. Unless...he knew something Jesse didn't.

Turning back to the two men, the skinny one's unnerving smile was stretched across his face. "We ready to go then?" he asked with a cackle. The big one said nothing, only nodding to McCree and gesturing that they proceed.

"Unfortunately, gents, I fear I'm being called to business elsewhere. I appreciate the boys in Washington dropping us a line. Do apologize on our behalf." With that, he tipped his hat and began to walk away from the two.

"'OY! Ya can't just leave! We was about to rob ya of your loot! Don'tcha have any consideration for us thievin' folk?! I swear, you Americans are the rudest lot! Roadhog, make sure this cowboy doesn't saddle off, savvy?"

With a complying groan, the large enforcer roughly shoved some scrap into his scatter gun and prepared to throw his hook. Jesse's hand went to his hip, pulling back the hammer on the Peacemaker. Seemed like it was just going to be one of those days.

* * *

The moment Dan hung up, he looked to the dozing Mei. He thanked God she was asleep before immediately dialing into Watchpoint. "Access code?" Athena's voice chirped.

"In a rush Athena, it's Dan."

"Access code," she stated impatiently.

"Ugh...Access Code: 1337 Overwatch Liaison Daniel McQueen, Lab Assistant."

"Thank you. How may I help you Dan?"

"Patch me through to Winston."

"He may be busy…"

"EMERGENCY ATHENA!" he snapped, before remembering that Mei was still asleep and quieting himself. Turning to look at her, she let out a tired groan, but just rolled over in her slumber.

"What's the problem, Dan?" Winston asked as his face appeared on the screen.

"Jesse was lured into a trap. He was supposed to be with the Americans, but the people he's with are notorious Australian thieves. I saw a report on them not too long ago when they killed the CEO of a big corporation after blowing up his warehouse."

"I'll send Hana to him as back up. How is your mission coming?"

"Good and bad," Dan admitted. "I found Mei, but she's...out of sorts."

"Well put her back into sorts. We need that machine up and running by Saturday, understand? If not, Rio de Janeiro will be wiped off the map, as well as a few other crowded cities."

"Yes sir, understood."

"Good."

With that, the scientist hung up, leaving Dan in the dark with the beautiful woman. With a sigh, he went to prepare McCree's hangover cure in anticipation for her awaking. When he returned, she was just beginning to stir, the sunlight filtering in through the window.

"Nngh...why do I keep doing this to myself?" she groaned, rubbing her head.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty," Dan teased her, causing her to look at him in shock before scooting way and falling off the bed. "Whoa! Mei, are you okay?" he asked rushing to her side.

"How are you here?" she gasped. "When did you...how did you…"

"Mei, just calm down," he urged her, helping her back to her feet before handing her the glass of water and the aspirin. "Drink the entire thing, take the pill. I'll explain everything, okay?" She nodded, doing as instructed. "We have an emergency. Winston sent me to help you complete the machine and we need it by Saturday. When I got here last night, you were very drunk."

Mei blushed in embarrassment as she swallowed down the water and pill. "Yeah...well…"

"What happened to you, Mei?" Dan whispered finally. "First you left...then Tracer went missing...I don't understand. Why did you leave?"

"Tracer's missing?" Mei asked to avoid answering him.

"Yes, but I found her. Don't change the subject."

She frowned, running her finger over the rim of the glass. "You betrayed my trust, Dan," she whispered. "You hurt me."

"I'm sorry?"

"I know you're back with Hana again," she murmured. "I know that...when you were in the medbay, she was sleeping beside you and you let her. Fareeha told me everything, Dna. I cared about you, I blamed myself...I still blame myself, for what happened. I hurt you, again and maybe it's selfish of me but I couldn't handle it when you hurt me back."

Dan stood pacing away from her, running his hands through his hair roughly before cursing under his breath. "Damn that woman," he snarled. "God, I wish someone would just put a bullet in her and let me be done with her!"

"Dan!" Mei exclaimed in shock. She'd never heard him speak like that of anyone.

"No! I have every right to hate her!" he shot back, wheeling on Mei. "Do you know why Hana stayed with me in the medbay? She did it to keep me safe from _her_. Ever since I came back and found her in _your_ bed, she's made it her mission to make me leave Overwatch and I won't do it! I won't leave Winston, I won't leave Tracer, and I won't leave you!"

"But...you and Hana…"

"Who gives a damn?!" he roared, his eyes full of fiery rage. "I didn't tell you this because I didn't want to worry you, but the day I came in to the lab to help you and got injured, the reason I was so distracted is because Fareeha had just kicked the absolute shit out of me! She beat me until the point where my leg and my ribs were broken and she put her gun to my head and threatened to blow my head off because she overheard Tracer telling me that she was proud of me for having sex with you! I wasn't distracted because of you, Mei! I was distracted because I was scared for my life and yet every time I turn around and think that I'm safe, it seems like while I continue to do my best to help Overwatch, Overwatch has no intention of helping me! Now you're telling me you left and it was _my_ fault?! That's bullshit!"

"Dan, you need to calm down," Mei lectured him, going to stand up but and grasp his hand, but he quickly pulled away from her.

"I'm _not_ with Hana!" he shouted, visibly shaking now. "I'm not with her and clearly, now I'm not with you, either! I'm here to save the innocent people of Brazil, so could you try for just one day to not continue to break my heart and just help save lives?!"

The climatologist began to tear up as his words speared through her. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm really sorry."

"Stop," he demanded, his own tears starting to pool forth. "Don't do this to me. If you want to leave, I'm not going to stop you. You can stay here in Lijiang for all I care, but I'm not leaving without that machine. So swallow your sadness, save whatever pity you have for me for someone who needs it, get over yourself, and tell me how to finish this thing."

She could feel her heart pounding in her chest. What had become of Dan? Where was the man she cared about so deeply, now? She placed her hand over her breast to try to calm her heartbeat. "Okay," she surrendered. "I'll help. Even if it means you hate me, I'll help you."

"Good," he grumbled, turning away from her to begin gathering up the tools and components. "Let's get to work."

* * *

"So explain to me one more time what happened," Mercy requested, dabbing at the wounds to his left biological shoulder. "You went to Hanamura to confront your brother and…"

"And I was foolish and decided to be dramatic," Genji surrendered before giving a weakened hiss at the stinging medicine. "He managed to actually get me with an arrow to my arm. My armor did a satisfactory job in saving it, but it still managed to cut me pretty deep. I didn't wish to get an infection, but not all doctors are willing to treat me. Besides, you're the only doctor I trust anyway."

"Well, I did put you together, I suppose," she mused with a grin. "How have you been, Genji? It's been some time since I last saw you."

"Much better," he admitted, flexing his mechanical arm. "I met a man, my new master, I suppose you could say. He helped me to become one with myself. I'm a whole man again doctor, even if I am part machine."

"I'm glad to hear it," she beamed at him, wrapping a cotton gauze around the wound. Just as she cut the bandage and taped it, her communicator began to ring again, causing her to sigh. "They just can't seem to leave well enough alone," she complained. "I told them, I was done with that life."

" _They_ , Dr. Zeigler?"

"Please, Genji. We're friends. You can call me Mercy or Angela."

"Thank you for that, but I fear I'm far more comfortable calling you Doctor Ziegler, if it is all the same."

"Very well. I'm referring to Overwatch. I quit recently."

"I thought Overwatch was shut down."

"It was," she sighed. "However, you know Winston. The world is always in need of saving and for him Overwatch was more than just some task force. We were his family."

"So, why did you quit if you never wished to rejoin?"

"At first, I joined as a favor to Winston. Call it my nostalgia getting the better of me. Then I met a young boy who was working as his assistant. Then, what can I say, I fell for him. I've never had children of my own, you understand. My life was far too busy, and yet here was this young boy in need of guidance. So...I took it upon myself to be his 'mother', but of course, as all children do, he grew up before I even realized it. It wasn't until he told me himself that he was an adult that I realized how foolish I'd been acting."

"I don't believe it is foolish," Genji commented. "Rather, I think that you, more than anyone, are a perfect motherly figure for a child."

"Oh, he's not a child," she quickly rectified. "Perhaps I still view him as I once did, but he hasn't been a child in many years. He's nearly twenty seven now, I believe. He actually reminds me quite a bit of you, Genji. He's ambitious, to a fault. Yet he can't help but to blame himself when things don't go as he hoped they would."

The ninja chuckled to himself. "It seems like you were very happy. Why did you leave?"

"As I said, he grew up. He no longer has any need for a mother, much less a mother figure. It was time he learned to stand on his own, so I quit as I'd always intended to do."

Genji began to chuckle again, but this time he began to laugh, covering his mouth with his other hand in a polite attempt to hide it. When Mercy gave him a quizzical look, he nodded in apology. "Sorry. It's just that you don't seem to understand well the bond between mother and child. No offense. Family is family, regardless of age. I fear he will always see you as a motherly figure and no amount of distance will stop him from missing you. Such is the nature of such a bond."

This was not something she'd wanted to hear. "I suppose it is the same for you and your brother than?" she griped, hoping it would sting just enough to make him drop it.

"Of course," Genji replied, missing her tone. "Regardless of whatever conflicts my brother and I had, he will never cease to be my brother."

"Strange words coming from the man who betrayed his family," a voice commented behind them, causing both of them to look up. Genji quickly stepped between Mercy and the older man.

"Do not speak to me of betrayal, Hanzo. Why are you here? Whatever conflict has arisen between us, it does not concern Doctor Ziegler."

"I see. So you are the one who turned my brother into this...abomination?"

"He is _not_ an abomination," she protested, but Genji quickly held his arm in front of her to indicate that she remain quiet.

"I have come brother, to discuss your sentiment. You may take your hand from your blade. I have no desire to battle you...for now."

"I will take my hand from my blade once you swear upon your honor that no harm will come to Doctor Ziegler."

"I swear on my honor I will not harm your pet harlot," Hanzo snorted in disdain.

"You _will_ show her respect, brother. Now state your purpose."

"The Shimada clan is in need of aid."

"That is none of my concern anymore."

"It will always be your concern, regardless of how far you attempt to distance yourself from us."

"You turned your back on them as well."

"And it is time _we_ returned to take our place as leaders of the family. An organization has taken something precious from our home in Hanamura. A scroll...one who dictates the leader of our family. I believe you are familiar with the one."

Images of the torn and blood splattered scroll flashed through Genji's mind, causing him to scowl beneath his mask. "Yes, I recall. So what? Why do you not go and get it back yourself."

"We are pressed for time and it is a mission that may even be far too dangerous for just myself. The fools who presently lead our clan have given the scroll to Talon, who now seek to use it as leverage to entice me back to my position at the head of the family in exchange for allegiance to their cause."

"You cannot mean to comply with them," Mercy suddenly blurted out. "You must understand, Talon is not a force of honor or good! They will use you and…"

"I already know this," Hanzo interrupted. "If I intended to agree to their proposal, I would not be here. They will most likely find some false heir to place at the head so that they may have control. I intend to steal the scroll back and remove that possibility." He hesitated for a moment, shifting from one leg to the other. "My concern is that I will not be able to do such a task alone. It is why I seek you out now brother."

"You have come to ask me for help, yet the first thing you do is to insult my honor?" the ninja scoffed.

"I have not come to ask for help!" he immediately snapped. "I have come to ask you to perform your duty to our family as you swore! It is your birthright, your place, your honor! You must assist me with this."

"Brother, you are very poor at this," Genji pointed out. "Do you not remember the wisdom of our ancestors? You catch more flies with honey than vinegar. Truly, your bitterness knows no limits."

Mercy cleared her throat. "If I may..."

"No," Hanzo interrupted.

"If you wish for me to join you brother, you will allow her to speak freely. Go ahead, Doctor Ziegler."

"It seems that you and Overwatch may have a common enemy. Perhaps, if you were to go to them and request their aid, especially with information about Talon, they would gladly assist you in recovering their scroll."

"This business is none of their concern," Hanzo blithely stated. "This is the concern solely of the Shimada clan. None of them is to know about it."

"Odd, I've been sending this entire conversation to them," Mercy added wryly, a soft smirk coming to her lips. "Why, I'm certain they are seeking a way to track you right now in order to offer you their services."

Hanzo began to shake with fury as he reached for an arrow, but not before Genji dashed forward, his blade placed against his bow. "You swore, brother," he reminded him.

"You must learn to keep your pet on a shorter leash," he hissed, shoving the arrow back into the quiver before shoving his brother away. "Do what you like then, 'brother'. If you are not willing to save our family, than perhaps you have wasted your time in your return after all." The way he spat the word 'brother' stung Genji greatly, but still he let him leave the small apartment.

"Well, he's just a regular bundle of sunshine," Mercy commented with a sigh of relief. "I still don't know why you try so hard to win his love."

"It is not about that," Genji replied calmly. "My brother is a very prideful man, but even still, there is goodness in his heart. It is difficult to see, I know, but I assure you, he may yet be redeemed. I will not surrender until he sees the light that still resides within his darkened heart."

"You're a good man, Genji," Mercy smiled. "Your brother is lucky to have you."

"And Dan is lucky to have you, Doctor Ziegler. Perhaps you should take time to visit him again. I am certain he is eager to see you."

She looked at her phone for a moment before nodding. Scrolling through her messages, her eyes widened with every word. "Oh my God," she whispered. "Dan's hurt. Oh God, he's been laying in the med bay for over a week! There was an accident and I just…" Just as she began to tear up, Genji placed his hands on her shoulders to calm her.

"Go to him," he instructed her. "He will forgive you, I am certain of it. If you like, I will accompany you."

"You will?"

"Of course," he replied. "Anyone who is a friend of you, Doctor Ziegler is a friend of mine. Besides, I wish to meet this 'son' of yours. He sounds like a very interesting man."

Angela wrapped her arms tightly around the ninja, hugging him close to her. He said nothing, most likely too shocked by the sudden gesture to react, but even still she embraced him. "Thank you," she whispered to him before placing a kiss on his scarred cheek. "Let's get a plane, right away. We must go to Gibraltar."

* * *

"Dan," Mei started just as he was installing another part into the machine. "Can we please talk?"

"No," he stated coldly. "The people of Brazil don't have time for our drama. We have to save their lives."

"But Dan…"

"There are people's _lives_ at stake, Mei."

"Right now, you're the only one at stake who matters to me," she whispered.

"Oh please," he chided. "I don't matter to you. If I had mattered to you, you'd have visited me in the hospital. You wouldn't have just ditched me to come to Lijiang, and you wouldn't have believed all of the nonsense that Fareeha said about me. Face it, Mei. You're looking for an out, and now I'm giving you one. I think it's obvious neither of us are getting what we deserve. You deserve a better guy than me, and I don't deserve to be led on. This is better for both of us."

Mei was certain he didn't actually believe that, but still she fell silent. Soon the only sound in the workshop was of Dan's ratchet as he continued to assemble different components of the machine. "Dan…"

"Mei, please. Let's just keep working on this. I don't want to get distracted again. We know what happened last time."

"That's not what I was going to talk about." She walked beside him, quickly doing some calculations on the board. "Look at this. The vibrations that are caused by this speaker aren't high enough. We need to find something that vibrates even faster than that. In order to cover an area as big as the storm we're going to need something that moves at a rate of…" she paused, scribbling out the numbers before coming to her figure. "Whoa."

Dan's eyes widened. "Are you serious? We're not going to be able to pull that off! Anything we use will just burn out when trying to vibrate at that frequency. That's so fast it may just superheat the air and spontaneously combust."

"So...what do we do, then?"

Dan bit his lip in thought, trying hard to come up with an idea. This was technology that has never existed. Worse, he wasn't sure what else to use. "Well, how did you do it last time?"

"It was just a prototype," she protested. "It barely covered our base!"

"Well still, what did you use?"

"I used...umm...I used…" her mind blanked as she tried to remember. "I...I can't remember."

"Mei!"

"I'm sorry!" she cried. "I can't remember!"

"There are people who are counting on us!"

"I know!"

"Then think!"

"I'm trying!" she bawled. As tears began to flow from her eyes, Dan could feel a tinge of guilt in his heart. He knew he was being hard on her, unfairly so. He was just so tired of it all. He was sick of people not trusting him and thinking the worst of him.

He turned to her and wrapped his arms around her affectionately. "I know. I'm sorry. I'm not trying to be mean. This is really, really important. The people in Rio de Janeiro are counting on us."

"Why are you so angry at me?" she whispered.

He released her from his hug, turning away from her and staring down at his wrist display. "Athena, can you locate any sort of sonic technology capable of creating frequencies greater than 2,000,000 kilohertz?" Mei frowned. She was not happy to have her question avoided.

After a few moments the computer chirped to inform him that the technology in fact did exist. "Dan, the Sonic Amplifier developed by Vishkar Corporation is capable of producing vibrations at the requested frequency."

"Excellent. Anyway we can get our hands on it?"

"Afraid not," Athena quipped. "The only known prototype of the device was stolen by a citizen of Rio De Janeiro."

"Coincidence?" I asked Mei. She remained silent, and again I felt guilty about our exchange. "Do we know who stole it?" I questioned, turning back to the display.

"Possibly. Records indicate that the culprit is most likely musician, Lúcio Correia dos Santos. In fact, he's made little attempt to deny it, yet authorities refuse to charge him as he is seen as something of a folk hero."

I looked to Mei again. "Didn't you say you were first inspired by this machine because of him? The world seems to be shrinking. Thanks Athena."

"My pleasure, Dan."

With that she shut off, leaving Mei and Dan in an awkward silence. "Looks like we're going to Rio," Dan chuckled. "Too bad it's not for a vacation."

"Yeah," she whispered. "Too bad…"

"Are you okay?" Dan knew it was a stupid question, but he couldn't swallow his guilt anymore. He didn't want to hurt her...well he did, kind of, but not like this. She didn't respond, leaving Dan simply standing there in silence. "I'll...help you clean up," he offered, moving to pick up an empty bottle.

Just as he did, she gently rested her hand on his, causing him to stop. As he looked up at her, she kissed him sweetly on the lips. It only lasted a brief moment before she stood, taking the bottle with her and throwing it into the trash.

Dan empathized with the bottle. The previous night, she'd showed it affection in how she consumed it. She'd made it give all that it had inside and when there was nothing left to give, she just left it discarded on the floor. But the moment something else went to pick it up, there she was, ready to take it again, only this time to discard it elsewhere. "Why is it so hard for you?" Dan murmured.

"Do you really need me to answer that?" she asked.

"Yes. I want to know why it is so difficult for you to simply love me. Why do you have to play this crazy game of cat and mouse?"

"Because this is just how it works, Dan."

"That's not an answer!"

"I don't know what you want to hear."

"I want the truth, Mei. I don't want to believe you're the kind of girl who likes being fawned over by a guy, but only wants to lead him on if you have use for him. I need you to prove that to me. Please."

She stared down at her feet. "It's because I pushed you away."

"What? Are we still hung up on that? That was over a month ago!"

"It doesn't matter, I hurt you."

"But I've forgiven you," he explained exasperated. "There's no reason to keep being upset about this."

"I'm upset because you're upset."

"I'm upset because that doesn't make any sense!"

"Maybe not, but I can't help it."

"Of course, you can!"

It was then Mei became angry and frustrated, raising her voice at him. "Well what about you?! Why is it so hard for you to decide between Hana and me? You keep saying you love me and that you love her, but why is it that you can't decide which one you love more?!" She already knew the answer before asking the question. She knew it wasn't so simple, but still her fury had boiled over and she felt a strange entitlement to answers. "You once said that if you decide on me after you picked Hana, you'd be seeing me as second best. Well now, I don't think it matters, because I'm already sure you _do_ see me as second best!"

"Are you serious? I've been over backwards for you! I've been trying to make you happy since I first pulled you out of the stupid ice! I came all the way to China to…"

"To get the damned machine. You didn't care about me, you made that abundantly clear!" She turned to start shoving her clothes into a duffel bag.

"Don't you dare turn this on me," he argued with a low growl. "I'm not the one who abandoned a friend in a hospital bed when they were blind and half-deaf."

"Well you seem fine to me," she contested.

"But you didn't know that! For all you know I could have been dead, and I'm starting to suspect that the one who wouldn't care if the other died isn't me, it's you."

Again tears began to flow and tempers began to flare. Mei just stared down the boy before sniffling and sipping up her bag. "Let's just go get the device."

"Wait," Dan called after her. "Why are you doing this? Seriously. Why do you want us to fight?"

"I don't want us to fight! I want us to be together, but I'm such a damned coward I can't even bring myself to tell you that that's how I feel! I can't just admit to your face that I hate myself every time you get hurt because of me! I _never_ believed Fareeha. I know you, Dan, and I know you aren't the person she thinks you are. It hurts that you'd honestly think that I would believe the cruel things she's said."

Without a word, Dan pulled Mei into his arms and kissed her passionately. She squirmed out of his grip, however, and pushed him away.

"Stop!" she commanded. "You can't just kiss everything between us away. That's not how it works. From now on, unless you _know_ that you don't intend to ever be with Hana again, you are not to kiss me, understand?"

"Mei…"

"Don't," she pleaded, crossing her arms under her chest and turning away from him. "Just don't." He wrapped his arms around her again, this time just holding her. "What did I just…"

"You didn't say anything about hugging," he interrupted, nuzzling his cheek against hers. "I may not know who i should be with. But I know I don't want to lose you, Mei."

"You're not losing me," she tried.

"Yes, I am. You ran off to China without me because you were scared you hurt me." When she didn't struggle or speak, he continued. "I love you, Mei. You know I do. I'm sorry for how I've been treating you. I know it's not fair. You have every right to go where you want." As he went to release her, her hands grabbed his, pulling them back around her.

"I've been dreaming about you," she whispered. "For many nights now, I've dreamt about what we did in the lab. I'm supposed to just pretend it didn't happen, but it's been stuck in my head on a loop since it did and I can't stop thinking about you that way."

Dan's eyes lowered as he pondered on her words. This wasn't how he'd wanted things. He wasn't looking for sex, he was looking for love. But what could he do when he'd found too much of it?

"What are you thinking?" Mei asked.

"I'm thinking about how, if I could go back in time, I'd do things differently. I ruined things between us. I feel like I've ruined everything."

"Don't say that," Mei lectured. "You haven't ruined anything." After a few more silent moments, he turned Mei to face him before kissing her again. "Dan," she whined, "you promised."

"I know now," he swore. "I don't want Hana, I want you. I know it will hurt her, and I'm not thrilled about that. I still care about her deeply, but in the end, I love you, not her."

"How can you know?"

"Because as guilty as I am about breaking up with Hana, not once did I regret loving you. I've never wished I hadn't fallen for you, Mei." With that he kissed her for a third time, only this time she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back.

The two melted into one another, soft purrs trailing from their throats in an irresistible expression of satisfied relief. They'd both been craving this, and now their desires were being sated by one another's lips.

"I want to be your boyfriend," Dan breathed when they'd parted.

"I want that, too," Mei replied, nuzzling into his chest.

The two stayed there, holding one another for a what felt like hours. "We should probably get ready for our trip to Rio," he whispered. "We're on something of a time crunch, you know?"

"Just a few more minutes," Mei pleaded. "I'm not ready to wake up from this dream, yet."

Dan just smiled at her and nodding, held her warm body against his. He could feel her tears of joy on the back of his neck and it made his own start to water. "Okay," he promised. "Just a few more minutes."

To be continued...


	15. Chapter 15

Enraptured in Ice Ch. 15

 **AN: Hey everyone! So a little update. NaNoWriMo is over and I'm happy to say it was a huge success. I have completed my original novel Legerdemain, and have started working on Oracle and Behemoth once again. Obviously, I intend to take some breaks here and there for fan fiction, but please bear with me. Offer is still on the table for Beta Readers in regards to my original work, so if you're looking for some good reading for Christmas Break, shoot me a PM or add me on Skype at Kiba Vulpus Elunal. Thanks again for all of your patience and support everyone. -Kiba**

"Ratchet, 5 millimeters," Dan called, holding out his hand.

Mei quickly placed the socket wrench in his open palm, watching as he reached inside and tightened the bolt he needed. The machine was almost completed, save the one component they needed to make it function. Time was running out, but with the plane tickets they'd purchased earlier, the climatologist was certain that they would make it in time.

"Elemental fuse," her assistant requested, extending his gloved hand. Mei reached for it before he added, "Don't touch it with your fingers directly. Put on gloves." Grabbing another pair of latex gloves, she handed him the small glass bulb. As he put it in, he pulled his head back out and taking her hand, was helped to his feet. "Done," he beamed.

"Great work, Dan. I knew you could do it," Mei cheered, hugging him tightly. "The people of Rio will be grateful to you, I'm sure."

"To us," Dan corrected her. "You're the one who invented this thing, Mei. I just followed your instructions to put it together. Let's get packed, we need to get to Rio asap, so it's best we don't dawdle for too long."

"We should pack extra," she grinned as she began stuffing things into her duffel bag. "After all, once the weather is fixed, we could stay in Rio. We can say we have to perform maintenance on it or something for the week. It'd be beautiful, wouldn't it?"

Admittedly, Dan would love to see Mei in a bikini top. Despite their doing of the deed, somehow the thought of only certain parts covered up was even more arousing than her being fully exposed. "Yes," Dan agreed. "Though I suspect Winston may have more work for us."

"When does our flight leave?"

Dan took a moment to glance at his watch. "In about an hour and a half. I'm already packed, but if you'd like some help…" When he looked up, he saw Mei scooping up the undergarments that had littered the floor from her drunken wallowing. Again, he felt a wave of guilt flow over him. He'd never wanted to hurt Mei, but he knew that the last they fought, he'd said somethings that he hadn't meant. Moving to her side, as she went to pick up a pair of panties, he gently rested his hand on hers, causing her to look up at him with her beautiful brown eyes.

"Something wrong, Dan?"

"I just...wanted to say that I'm sorry for how I treated you earlier," he murmured. "I know I was pretty nasty to you, and I let things get too personal and just...I'm sorry."

She smiled softly at him, her eyes closing as she enjoyed the feeling of his hand on hers. "I'm sorry, too. I have a problem. When things are becoming difficult, I run away from it. I tell myself it's for the best, for myself and for others. I never really realized how much it hurts people until I met you." Leaning closer, she placed a light kiss on his cheek that made him blush brightly. "You have a beautiful heart, Dan. Don't ever change, please?"

He thought about it for a moment before asking, "Do you know when I first fell for you?"

"When you pulled me out of the ice?" she giggled.

He shook his head slowly. "No, not then. I first fell for you when you went to talk to Winston. You reached up and you changed something on one of his equations and fixed it. I knew then that you and I were supposed to be together."

"How?"

"Because it's the same as what I do," he whispered. "I fix things. I take what doesn't work, and I make it work again. When things are broken, I help put them back together...but…" he paused for a moment, his eyes beginning to tear up.

"Dan?" she questioned with concern. "What's the matter?"

"It's just...I remember thinking, when I saw you. I saw you fix the equation that Winston and I had been staring at for months and hadn't noticed the mistake. That was when, I knew...I hoped...that you'd be able to fix me," he began to tremble as his tears fell. "I'm broken, Mei. Something is wrong with me. Everyone thinks I don't notice or see the way they dote on me like I'm a child, but I do. Something inside of me isn't like it should be, because if it was, then I wouldn't have ever lost you to begin with."

"Dan…"

"Tell me it's not true. If I was more attractive, if I was more charming and social, that you wouldn't have left me when I told you I had feelings for you. Since I've met you, things have been different. I've learned to shoot. I've performed an operation. I've…" he swallowed, gesturing to their construct, "built a freaking weather machine. I've made love to two beautiful women. I've seen the dead come back to life. I've saved my best friend. But no matter what amazing things I've done, it will never change that the one thing I can't fix is me. I know you don't want me to change...but I need you to fix me, Mei. You can fix things like I can...so please, fix me."

Pulling her hand away from his, he flinched as if he were going to move to grab it, but he didn't. Mei wrapped her arms around her assistant, pulling his head to her chest as she affectionately stroked his hair. "You're not broken, Dan," she swore, cuddling him close. "You're different, that's true, but you're not broken. I've always been something of a loner. I'm friendly enough, but even when I was stationed in Antarctica, I wasn't very close with my peers. I've never really had a boyfriend before. Even still, when I first met you, I was so surprised by how kind and gentle you were. People in Overwatch tend to live up to it by being overbearing, so when you welcomed me to this new time, to _my_ new time, I knew immediately that I liked you. You helped me against Widowmaker and Reaper, which was when I saw it, Dan. I saw the hero in you. I think...I think the reason it took me so long to admit my feelings for you, Dan, is that I was scared to let myself be happy. When someone makes you happy, it gives you something that can be taken away from you, so I was scared because I didn't want you to be taken from me, Dan."

"I couldn't be taken from you," he swore. "I love you, Mei. I'd do anything for you, I hope you know that."

"Please, don't say that," she pleaded. He looked at her in shock. "Dan, if ever you are given the choice between me or the greater good, you mustn't choose me, understand? The world is worth saving, so if I'm ever being used against you, you have to let me go."

"I...I can't," he stammered. "I mean...without you…" he paused, unsure of what to say. "You are the world to me," he finally stated. Unsure of how to respond, she simply continued to pack.

Dan felt conflicted, but began to assist her in putting her clothing into her bag. As she zipped it up, she stood and helped him to pack up the machine carefully. The two worked in silence before Dan spoke up again.

"I love you, Mei. I know I say it over and over again. But I just want you to know, no matter what happens in Rio...I love you."

"What do you mean, Dan?"

"Well...if this machine fails, for whatever reason, I don't plan on leaving it until it's fixed. If I don't fix it in time though, I want you to get as many people as you can out of Rio. You're more important to Overwatch than I am."

"Don't say that Dan," she criticised, but he just smiled sheepishly at her. Placing his hand on her cheek, he placed a quick peck on her lips, but said nothing, slinging the machine on to his back and carrying it carefully out of the tower.

* * *

Zarya began swiftly punching in commands at the digital console, trying to figure out what was the deal with the mysterious woman who'd attacked Volskaya not even a week ago. She had expected Talon to make some sort of attack eventually. The factory was one of the most important places in Russia, but still, for only three of them to so easily sneak in and get as far as they did before alarms were tripped…it was insanity.

"Who are you?" she questioned, staring at the one brief still they'd recovered from the cameras shortly before they were wiped. It was then that she got an idea. Pressing on her communicator in her ear, the phone began to wring before another feminine voice answered.

"Hello?" the exotic accent asked. "This is Vaswani. Please state who is calling."

"Satya! This is Zarya. How are you old friend? I trust you are well?"

"Zarya? Why is it you are calling?"

"Can one friend not simply call another friend?" Zarya tried, but after a skeptical pause on the other line, she sighed softly. "I have need of your assistance," she surrendered. "I am seeking a person of interest who attacked Volskaya shortly back."

Symmetra considered it for a moment before replying, "Perhaps there is a trade that can be made. We actually have a person who is causing troubles for Vishkar as well. Some musical street rabble who is inciting anarchy amongst the other citizens of Rio."

"Ah yes, I have heard of this man. What can I do?"

"If you could...er...handle him, our company would be most grateful. It is not that we wish him dead, mind you, but at the last, if you could recover the technology he has stolen from us, it would be much appreciated. In turn, I will give you access to any resources that are at my disposal. What is it you are needing specifically?"

The Russian woman ran her hand through her hair in thought. "I need a facial recognition scan. Possibly a three-dimensional rendering as well, to assist in discovering place of origin via phrenology scans."

"That should be little issue," Symmetra agreed. "When can I expect to see you in Rio? I will have a representative awaiting your arrival at the airport to bring you here."

"I'll be there by tomorrow morning. Sound fair?"

"Yes. We await your presence. Farewell, Alexsandra." With that, the phone clicked leaving Zarya standing there stunned by the flatness with which the architect had dismissed her. She knew this was typically her method, but even still, it was always jarring for such a sudden cease of conversation. What had ever happened to small talk anyway?

Grabbing her gear, she eagerly boarded a flight to Rio de Janeiro. On the way there, however, a weather report came in, informing her of the impending natural disaster that would wipe out the city. She only had two days to find the man that Symmetra had spoken of, after which she may be swept away with the rest of the city.

"Excuse me," a voice asked beside her on the plane. Turning to regard the stranger, Zarya looked down on the rather short red head who had the biggest smile on her face. "You're Zarya, right?"

"Y-yes?"

"I am such a lesbian for you! Can I get your autograph?!"

Zarya blinked in confusion for a moment before nodding slowly. The girl jutted out a book, the newest reprint of _Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone_ , a book that was popular before Zarya's time. "Have a joy for the classics, I see," she noted opening up the cover and clicking her pen. "Who do I make it out to?"

"Remi Lucky," the girl answered excitedly. "With an 'i'."

"To my favorite lesbian Remi, Zarya," she read out loud, scribbling the inscription before passing the book back to her adorable fan. "Here you are. I hope that you enjoy your book. I've heard it's a good one."

She gasped loudly. "You _haven't_ read it?! Okay, so the story starts out with…" As Remi continued to go on and on about the book, which Zarya was now informed was the first of a series, the Russian strongwoman came to the slow realization that this was most likely not going to be a restful flight.

* * *

In the middle of the desert, Jesse's hand rested on his hip where his gun was holstered. Behind him, two bandits had their weapons pointed at him, ready to fire. At times like this, Jesse felt more alive than ever before. High noon. When the fast were winners and the slow were dead. His robotic arm flexed its mechanical digits as he spun.

Grasping and unpinning the flashbang in one fluid motion, Jesse blinded the two men before diving and firing wildly at the two of them. Unfortunately, he hadn't noticed the rather large bear trap hidden in the sand as he fell and with a metallic snap, it closed down on his biological arm. He let out a roar of pain as the two injured men blinked stars from their eyes.

"Oy! What was all that fuss about?! See, we's was just gonna blow you up all quicksie, but now you done upset my friend! Right?" the smaller one said, turning to the larger one for affirmation.

"..." Roadhog walked up to McCree, rage boiling through the reflective lens of his mask as he roughly stabbed his meathook through Jesse's leg, making him hiss in agony. Turning, he walked to a nearby rocky outcropping where a large motorcycle and side car had been stashed for he and his partner.

"Ooh! Yer a lucky one, cowboy! It's been a while since we gave anyone the ol' keelhaul. Or in your case, the yeehaw!" Junkrat laughed maniacally at his bad joke, even going so far as to slap his prosthetic knee cap that was torn off during he and Mako's ski trip in the Aspens a few years prior. Putting on his helmet that was slotted to allow his ever burning hair to poke through, Junkrat excitedly jumped into the side car before giving an approving fist bump to his companion.

Jesse barely managed to get the beartrap off his arm in time for the wild motorcyclist to suddenly gun it, jerking him by his femur through the desert. The movement was so fast and so sudden that his gun fell from his hands, leaving him unable to do anything to defend himself against the psychotic bandits.

Instead, he found himself grateful for his body armor as it absorbed the rough treatment from the rocks that were in the desert. He struggled to reach the hook embedded in his leg. If he could remove it, then he'd be able to make himself gone, something he was rather skilled at. "Damn it, damn it, damn it!" he growled as he tried to dislodge himself, but the jerky movements from the bike, and the barbs on the hook prevented him from making any headway.

Just as Roadhog dragged Jesse through a narrow rock, his eyes widened, just before a large metal object came crashing into the front of his bike, causing it to come to a complete stop. With the speed they were going, both he and Junkrat were launched nearly forty feet from the bike, causing them to land in the dust and sand with a solid thud.

"Brigitte, go! Help our friend to the tank!" The wielder of the heavy metal hammer that had stopped the bike called. "As for these two…" He turned in surprise, just as Junkrat leveled his grenade launcher, firing a loud volley while screaming a stream insults. Each explosion created a large cloud of sand as both criminals released torrents of fire towards the interloper. As they got to their feet, the dust began to settle. "Ahahahahaha! Do you know who I am?! Foul villains! I am Reinhardt, defender of justice, honor, and valor!"

"How in the hell is he still talkin'?!" Junkrat cried. His answer was given by the flourescent orange energy barrier that was held in front of the large metal knight like a shield. The man was huge, even bigger than his friend, and that scared Junkrat to no end.

Jesse let out a groan as he suddenly felt the chain give slack. "Whozzat? Kid, that you?" he asked, as an arm slipped beneath his, helping him to his feet.

"I haven't been a kid in a few years," a feminine voice answered testily. "Can you stand? We have to get you to our vehicle. You'll be safe there." As his eyes began to adjust, Jesse looked to see the freckled face of a blonde woman, her hair tied up behind her and a pair of goggles on her forehead. "Don't worry, I'm a friend," she promised, helping him hobble, the hook still in his leg, towards a large boulder. The side hatch suddenly fell open, the hologram disguising it creating a rippling effect as it faded away.

"Come now, wrongdoers! Reinhardt fears no men! I shall teach you the true meaning of justice!" the knight declared, advancing on them as his hammer's rockets began to heat up.

"Roadhog! Buy me some time!" Junkrat instructed. His large friend nodded to show he understood, turning on Reinhardt and leveling his gatling gun. He cranked the handle quickly, firing the powerful stream of bullets at the armored knight who barely managed to put his shield up in time.

As he endured the brunt of the damage, he saw the smaller bandit placing a large spiked tire on the ground and pulling a ripcord. It roared loudly as a built in engine came to life inside of it, sending it careening, but not towards Reinhardt, towards the tank! "No! Brigitte!" the knight gasped, turning and activating his thrusters.

Time seemed to slow down for Brigitte as she heard her companion's shout, turning her head to see the explosive wheel running full speed directly at her. When it was nearly ten feet from her, she felt something big and heavy slam into her back, sending her and Jesse hard into the far inside wall of the tank, just an explosion rocked it fiercely.

"Booyah!" Junkrat cried, doing a victory dance, but Roadhog new better. He let out an impatient huff, advancing on the vehicle. Sure enough, from the explosion's debris, a crescent of flame raced outwards and slammed hard into Roadhog, engulfing him in fire.

He let out a cry of pain as he fell to the ground, rolling about to extinguish himself. As his friend went to assist him, the tank's door closed shut and it sped away through the sand, leaving the bandits with little more than a few wounds and totaled motorcycle.

"Damn it, boss! That hurt!"

"Sorry, Brigitte but trust me, that explosion would have hurt a lot more." As he gave her the steering wheel to drive, he stood on a panel, allowing the necessary mechanisms to remove his armor. "And what about you, friend? I trust your pain too is complaint worthy?"

Jesse groaned, unable to get up. "I'm mighty grateful for your timely arrival, partner. For a moment, I was pretty sure the devil was playing my song. Pains bad, but I guess it means I'll live. What in tarnation are you doing all the way out here anyway?"

Reinhardt beamed at him, moving to lift him like a child and lay him on a workbench that was laid out like an operating table. As humiliating as it was, Jesse made no objections. "Hasselhoff reunion tour! I tell you, those holo-vid replicas are so realistic, it's like I was actually a kid again! Brigitte and I were just about to hit the next stop, when we got lost."

"When _you_ got lost," Brigitte countered. " _I'd_ just finished repairing that armor that you just trashed...again!" Her friend just let out an apathetic 'bah', waving off her grumbling as he came to Jesse's side.

"Well, whatever the case, I owe you one Reinhardt," McCree swore. The rather muscular man grabbed a bottle of booze and handed it to the cowboy who gratefully took a swig. When Reinhardt's massive hand closed around the hook though, Jesse knew it would take more than that, so he quickly began chugging the bottle.

"Woah, slow down friend," Reinhardt interrupted snatching the bottle. "We need to save some of that."

"Why? We havin' a party or something?" Jesse muttered sarcastically. With a rough pull, the barbed hook came free causing him to let out a loud scream. "GOD DAMN MOTHERFUCKIN' PIECE OF-" he was cut off when his eyes fell on the appalled Brigitte. "Erm, I mean...ow? I beg your pardon little lady. Sometimes my sailor's tongue interrupts my cowboy's senses." He had to grit his teeth to prevent from swearing again as the knight then emptied the rest of the booze into his wound, filling his leg with a burning pain.

"Good news," Reinhardt commented. "It seems it only got your femur! No arteries cut!"

"Well gee, ain't that damned swell!" McCree hissed.

Engaging autopilot, Brigitte came to the back to assist her boss with treating their guest. "What he means, Mr. McCree, is that you'll live. Otherwise, you'd have bled out in less than a minute on our table. Luckily, we can fix you up. Reinhardt can you keep him still while I get the suture kit?"

"Sutures? God damn it, shouldn't I be out for this or something?" Jesse asked, just before the muscular man coldcocked him hard enough in the jaw to send him into unconsciousness.

His companion raised an eyebrow at him, as she removed the sterile packaging from the needle. "What?" Reinhardt asked. "Is he not still enough for you? Besides, he said he wanted to be out, now he's out!"

"Men," she sighed, getting to work on his injuries.

* * *

As their plane touched down, Mei turned to see Dan sound asleep beside her. She smiled softly, reaching out to brush his hair from his cute face. He hadn't gotten hardly any sleep the night before, as a result of a mix of jet lag and wanting to care for Mei in her drunken stupor. When he stirred, Mei gave an embarrassed squeak, pulling her hand back quickly. "S-sorry," she apologized quickly. "We're here."

Dan yawned sleepily, but nodded his head to show he heard her. "That was a nice nap," he commented. "And I don't mind being woken up. Especially if it's you." Stretching out, he placed a soft kiss on her cheek before wrapping his arms around her. "You ready to save some people?"

"Always," she beamed. As the two of them stepped off, they began walking down the street towards the hotel. Dan had no idea where they would be able to find Lucio, but as if an answer to his prayer, he suddenly heard a concussive boom, followed by the thump of music. It was so intense, it seemed to pierce right through him, even moving his soul.

"Head's up!" A voice called, and turning to look behind him, he saw a dark-skinned man skating straight towards him. Dan braced himself for impact, but the man just jumped to the wall beside him, flashing him a grin as he slid along the brick, leaving a streak of green behind him. The man was one he recognized a moment after he was gone.

"Mei, after him!" Dan declared, turning to begin running after him.

"Stop, thief!" a feminine voice cried, just as a bright blue wall erupted in front of him, trying to seal off Lucio's path. Instead, the musician just kicked off the hard light, sliding along it into another alley way.

"Dan, take the roof," Mei called to me, as she turned to run full force into the woman who was giving chase. As the two tumbled to the ground, Dan quickly ran after Lucio, as he was ordered.

Sure enough, the roofs allowed him to make faster headway than Lucio's skates could, even with the pumping music accelerating his speed. Looking up, he saw Dan running after him. "I've gotta admit," he called up to him, "you're not too bad. Let's see if you can handle this!" Slapping a button on the back of the device in his hand, the music suddenly blared loudly, rocketing him even faster through the alley way.

What Lucio hadn't counted on was that it sped Dan up too. Sure enough, Dan began to jumping from rooftop to rooftop, before doing a diving roll onto a lower ledge. "Lucio," he shouted after him. "I need to speak with you!" he cried.

"Yeah, you and a lot of people!" he laughed. "If you wanna take me in, you'll have to catch me first." With that, Lucio performed a quick 90 degree turn, before jumping onto a rail and grinding his way down a flight of stairs.

Dan gave chase, until he ended up in a wide market square where he couldn't make the jump. He looked around frantically for any sign of Lucio, but he'd managed to vanish with the crowd. Where was he?! Then, Dan saw a flash of green on the other side of the square, and he knew he'd picked up the trail again.

Jumping onto a balcony, he took a running start before swinging from a hanging flag and landing on the next rooftop. He could scarcely believe the amount of stamina he had right now. Normally, he'd be completely winded, but it seemed Lucio's music was able to boost him in more than just morale.

By this point, the locals had all begun pointing and shouting at Dan, some of them even starting to throw rocks in an attempt to shake him off of Lucio's trail. Mei's assistant, however, was able to dodge them just enough that he managed to catch up when Lucio found himself at a checkpoint constructed by the Vishkar Corporation.

Sure enough, the security force began to advance on Lucio. He tightened his grip on his sonic blaster, ready to fight if he had to, but even he knew he wouldn't be able to face them all at once. That was when, Dan swung down from a jutting out pipe to slam his foot into one of the guard's jaws, quickly turning and firing his gun to eliminate the turrets that were beginning to form. "Damn it," he shouted, as beams began to fire from their particle cannons, latching onto him and draining the energy from his body. Was this how he was going to end?

"Let's pump it up!" Lucio shouted, coming to his side and placing the sonic cannon right against the ground. By doing so, he created a massive feedback that blasted the guards away from Dan. "C'mon, afeiçoado. We have to get out of here. This way!" Grabbing Dan's hand, he began pulling him after him quickly, before the two ducked into a sewer pipe that seemd to lead down a sharp slide before coming out lower in the city in a slummy market area.

Dan could hear the guards giving chase through the pipe, so he and Lucio bolted, vanishing among the crowd only to sneak into a small metal shed that one of the citizens gestured us into.

As the door slammed behind us, both he and Lucio were panting and out of breath. "Whoo! That was a close one! Seriously man, you've got some legs on you. Looks like I pegged you wrong. You're not Vishkar, huh?"

Dan shook his head, still trying to breathe. "Dan McQueen," he introduced himself, offering his hand. "Overwatch representative."

"Oh! Yeah, I know you!" Lucio beamed, grabbing his hand and shaking it excitedly. "Yeah man, I saw you on TV! You're D. Va's new boyfriend, right? Man, you're one lucky guy. Some guys would kill for a chance to go on a date with her."

"Y-you're a big fan then, I take it," Dan replied, a little jarred by the man's overbearing positivity. "Look, I don't have much time, but I really need your help."

"For Hana Song's man? Anything you need!"

He bit his tongue to stop from correcting him, instead giving him a grateful nod. "I need your sonic cannon," he explained. Lucio was absolutely stunned by his declaration.

"Woah man, you're asking for a bit much there. I can't give you this. Sorry," he said. "I need this, for the people. I don't know if you noticed, but there's a revolution going on out there. Vishkar's got people on a short leash, and this…" he held up the cannon to show him, "is the only thing that's helped me to keep them free to live as they choose."

"I respect that," Dan swore. "I don't know if _you_ noticed, but right now there's a class five hurricane heading straight for Rio. If you don't give me that sonic cannon a lot of citizens may die."

"Well what good is it to you?" Lucio challenged. "You going to use it as some sort of megaphone or something?"

Dan had to swallow a laugh. "No, no. I'm here with my boss, Mei. We've developed a weather machine that will stop the storm. The only problem is, we don't have anything capable of producing a high enough concentrated frequency. That's where your equipment comes in."

Lucio sank into a chair, running a hand through his dreads in shock. "Are you serious, man? A weather machine? That's some science fiction, mumbo jumbo. I'll believe it when I see it."

"No problem," he countered. "I'll just contact Mei and…" A broadcast suddenly echoed through the thin metal walls. "What's that?" Dan asked as the siren like noise wailed.

"Bad news," Lucio answered. Frowning at Dan, he went to his side and rested his hand on his shoulder. "That sound, means that Vishkar managed to get your friend, and if the device is with her, you can bet that they've taken them both to head quarters."

"We have to get her back!"

"Woah, woah. No, absolutely not. You're talking crazy, amigo. We can't get in there."

"Lucio! Hurricane! Innocent lives!" Dan blabbered, his heart pounding in his chest in panic. "We have to save her! Otherwise, we're going to see a lot of people, a lot of civilians get killed."

The musician gave a sigh, opening one eye to regard Dan before nodding in agreement. "Fine. Why the hell not? It's not like I haven't done it once before," he taunted, spinning the gun about his trigger finger. "Let's do it, buddy."

* * *

"Wake up," Wintson's voice echoed in Jack's ear. With a groan, his eyes opened to find he was no longer looking through his visor but was now staring the ape dead on. He went to quickly dash away, but found himself chained to a post. "You have explaining to do, Jack," he growled. "You were supposed to be dead. How could you lie to everyone like this?"

"There are things you cannot understand, Winston. Important things. Do you think that the people would just let Reyes' rebellion go? They wanted someone to pay in blood, and it would have been mine."

"So you ran like a coward?" he roared. "You pretended you were dead when Overwatch, our family, needed you the most because you were scared! We were all scared! We needed you to guide us and you abandoned us, so I took up the mantle for you! I have wondered many times if my work has honored you, respected your wishes in death, but clearly you're not worthy of being called the Hero of Overwatch!"

"Leave him be, Winston," Ana interrupted softly. "It is not his fault, nor is it an act of cowardice."

"And you!" the ape snapped. "You were supposed to be dead as well! Let me guess, you were scared too, is that it?"

Ana's eyes narrowed as she stared the scientist down. "I did what I had to in order to escape this life. It was better for everyone that I was dead. I made a mistake, and this was my way of paying for it. Do you think I have not felt the weight of my absence? You are wrong."

Winston's nostrils flared as he stormed back and forth outside of the holding cell. It was taking every ounce of will that he had to prevent him from triggering the neural primal enhancer embedded in his head. "One of you had better start talking quick. What are you doing here and why did you kidnap and torture one of my operatives?"

"We did not torture her," Ana protested. "We restrained her in the chrono chamber. She was going to reveal our presence before it was time and that was something we could not allow."

"Tracer is scared to death of confined spaces! You reactivated her chrono displacia and you could have made her vanish for good!"

"It was a necessary risk," Jack muttered. "We didn't take joy in exposing her to that, but we couldn't have us being discovered by that kid. Seems as though we weren't careful enough."

"Kid? You mean Dan? What does he have to do with any of this?"

"Winston, Hana tells me she is going to Arizona, to provide assistance to McCree, but what of my…" Pharah froze as she stared into the cell to see the two of them chained up. "No," she gasped, taking a step back. "No, no, no. This cannot be real. This must be a hologram or something. This isn't real."

"Fareeha…" the ape tried to soothe her, but she quickly tugged away. Ana's face sank in shame as her daughter just shook her head in denial. Pharah didn't want to believe it. She couldn't believe it.

Unsure of what else to say, Ana simply uttered, "Hello, Fareeha. It is nice to see you, my darling daughter."

Pharah's features flashed with anger as she stormed up to the bars of the cell. "I am _not_ your daughter!" she hissed in rage. "My mother is dead! She's been dead for many years, and it will take more than some imposter to…"

"Al-aʻdālah nāzlah min fūq," Ana interrupted, using her old saying to prove her identity. Fareeha shook in shock as she just stood there. "I must say Fareeha, you have grown into a beautiful young woman. Though you have let hatred consume your heart. You must learn to have compassion along with your strength."

"This is a touching reunion," Soldier commented, "but we've got bigger problems right now. Where is the kid?"

"China, soon to be Rio. Why?" WInston grunted.

Jack sighed softly, looking to Ana who met his gaze as well. Finally, he uttered the secret the two had been hiding for so long. "He's an agent of Talon."

To be continued...


	16. Chapter 16

Enraptured in Ice Ch. 16

Sitting in a dark room, the only light provided coming from the neon cables that lined her body and the monitor that she stared at, a young woman was moving her fingers furiously through the air. As she did, her eyes scanned the numerous amounts of images that appeared and vanished rapidly. "Come on, come on," she muttered to herself before finally, there was a ding, and she chuckled to herself. "I'm in! All right, time to have some fun." Adjusting the slider that had appeared on her holoscreen, she chuckled to herself as she watched the confused man through his own security cameras. Every few seconds, she'd open his garage door, only to shut it again the moment, he turned to look.

"Sombra," a deep gravelly voice said behind her, causing her to roll her eyes. "We did not outfit you with multibillion dollar equipment so you could hack a suburban garage door."

Turning over her shoulder, she stared into the pallid skull-like mask that Gabriel wore to hide his horribly scarred face. "Pssh. I was just having a little bit of fun. I swear, you are such a party pooper! Don't you ever like go watch a movie or something? Bowling, maybe?"

"I do not bowl," Reaper stated firmly.

"Clearly," she scoffed. "It's be pretty hard to do with that stick wedged in your ass."

"Sombra…" he growled, his temper starting to rise. She always set him on edge. It wasn't that she frightened him, in truth he wasn't frightened of anything anymore. It was just that she was so damned smart, and worse, she knew it.

"Imbécil maltido, what do you want Gabe?!" she snapped back, her own patience fading quickly at having her fun interrupted.

"I need a status report on our operative. Now."

Again her fingers began moving quickly as she spat a stream of highly insulting words in her native spanish. "There," she declared, finishing her work, showing a picture of the young boy. "Are you happy now, huh? He's right there, see? Still alive, still breathing. I told you when the sensors went off the other week that he'd be fine. His survival instincts would passively activate and his body would work to heal him faster."

"I'm not so certain," Reaper stated.

"Ay, Dios mio, are you seriously questioning my talents again? What happened when you first brought him here, huh? You were going to give him the same treatment as Amelie, and you've seen that she's slipping. My way is much more effective, not to mention he doesn't come out of it looking like a freaking alien."

"Ahem," the sniper coughed, announcing her presence. "I do not appreciate your accusations, Sombra. I am perfectly capable of performing my duties as I have always been. Not to mention that even with my new appearance, I still have plenty of men drooling over me. Right, Gabriel?"

"Do not bring me into this," he grumbled.

"That's his way of saying 'no', mamacita," Sombra taunted. "Anyway, are you happy now, Gabe? I told you, he's fine. That kid is my greatest work ever, he's not going to get messed up just because of some noise. Sheesh."

"For your sake, you'd better hope so," he threatened, brushing past Widowmaker to leave.

The sniper stood there for a moment before leaning closer to gaze at the image. "I do not understand the fascination with the boy. Yours or his. He doesn't look like anything special to me. When we fought, he was only able to beat me because he had backup."

Sombra scoffed. "Trust me honey, if you were to activate his survival programming, you'd not have come out of that alive. He's got all the skills you do, and with the hacking I gave his cells, I can give him 100% access to his muscle strength. Not to mention, he's apparently a great lover."

The last part made Amelie blink. "What?"

"A few times, I've registered a sudden increase in his heart rate, when I checked in on him through the oculus lenses we inserted in his eyes, I could see the woman or I suppose women, since it's been more than once, he was screwing. I tell you, Amelie, a girl don't make noises like the ones I heard unless they're getting something good. Or in your case, on laundry day."

If her blood were still visible through her skin, it would have been obvious that Widowmaker was blushing. "I don't know what you're talking about," she replied in a huff.

"Yeah, I bet you don't," Sombra cackled. "Your husband may be a bit stiff, but we both know you aren't going to be hitting that anytime soon." There was a click as a bullet was loaded into the rifle's chamber. The barrell now rested against her temple as Amelie gave a low growl.

"I would like to remind you that I was the one who put a bullet in my husband, and I loved him. Imagine the things I would do to someone like you," she threatened before retracting her weapon. Not even allowing her a chance to respond, Widowmaker swaggered off, her heels clicking along the tile as she did so.

"Orale, no one here can take a joke," the hacker complained before alarms began to blare on one of her screens. "Oh, what's this?" she asked, opening up a display to see that a buff pink-haired woman was now entering Vaswani's headquarters. "Ooh, it seems my friend has sent me some things to play with." Her eyes glanced from Zarya to the screen that housed Dan's image, a smile coming to Sombra's lips. "I swear, today must be my lucky day. Let's see about taking my chico for a test drive." Punching in a few commands, Sombra was surprised to find that her project was now at the back door of Vaswani as well.

Tuning into his auditory function, she could hear him speaking. "Damn, it's locked," he growled to Lucio. "Can you blast the door open?"

"Are you crazy?" the man with him asked. "If I do that, we'll be swarmed by guards before you can even shake a stick at them."

"Don't worry friend," Sombra noted. "Today, I'm going to be your guardian angel." With a mischievous giggle, she hacked into Vaswani's locks and electronics, and with a click, the door unlocked in front of him. Savoring his confused expression, she tapped her ear, creating a virtual microphone to speak directly into his ear. "Hello, hello. Testing. One, two, three. Qué estás haciendo güey?"

He suddenly straightened on her screen, causing her to smirk as he looked around himself in confusion. For him, it'd be hearing her right into his head, but the man standing beside him wouldn't be able to hear a thing. "Who said that?" Dan asked.

"Said what?" Lucio questioned.

"Someone just said something in my ear. Some girl."

"Man, you must be tripping. Why the hell am I doing this with you again?"

Licking her lips impishly, she spoke again. "Psst, gringo. I'm talking to you, wey." Again, Dan looked around completely baffled. "Hey. Listen, your friend isn't going to be able to hear me, okay? I'm your little fairy companion, got it? If you understand, nod your head." Dan did one more sweep, trying to find the source before slowly nodding his head. "Bueno. Now, go through that door, and head to the end of the hall, then turn up the stairs to the left. Wait exactly twenty eight seconds for the guards to pass before taking the rest of the stairwell. I've disabled motion detectors, so you should be fine for now."

As Dan reached out shakily, Lucio rolled his eyes. "Man, it's locked. We're not getting in that way, let's…" his words trailed off as Dan turned the handle, leading into the open hallway. Looking back at Lucio, he gave a shrug. "Un-freaking-believable. All right then, lead the way, I guess."

* * *

Symmetra tossed down her glove with a sigh before looking back to the girl sitting shyly across the table. "You have explaining to do," she stated matter-of-factly. "Why were you aiding and abetting that criminal?"

Mei scratched her cheek in thought, trying how best to reveal their purpose without actually mentioning their affiliation. "We need the technology he possesses," she explained. I'm a climatologist, and me and my assistant, the man you saw running after Lucio…"

"The criminal," she interjected.

"Yes," Mei admitted carefully. "We saw that there is a class five hurricane that's coming. It will destroy the town completely."

"Nonsense," another man stated as he entered. Immediately, Satya straightened and snapped to attention. "At ease, Symmetra," he instructed. "A pleasure to meet you Misses…"

"Miss Zhao," Mei corrected. The man set her on edge, but why she couldn't be sure. "And I'm afraid you'll have to trust me. This is my expertise. If we don't obtain the technology that Lucio has…"

"Stole," the man interrupted.

"Stole," she repeated, beginning to lose her patience. "As I was saying…"

"Madam, I assure you that Vaswani's hard light constructs are flawless in their design and near indestructible. While I appreciate your warning, we shall simply tell the residents to stay within their homes and wait out the storm. Go ahead and release her, Symmetra."

Mei was not happy with out the meeting turned out, but still she held her hands up for the dark-skinned woman to remove her hard-light shackles. "I will show her out," she informed her boss. "Come, Miss Zhao."

"Please," Mei requested one last time. "You must listen to me. The entire city of Rio is in danger. If we don't get that technology…"

"That will be all, Miss Zhao. Thank you," he stated flatly, tugging on one of his silken gloves to show his lack of interest in speaking further.

Symmetra led her out of the room, guiding her down the hallways until finally reaching the elevator. "Listen carefully," she whispered as the door closed. "We do not have much time to talk. They are certain to be watching us. What he said is untrue. Our structures are durable, but not invincible. I wish to help you, under the condition that you give me the technology once you are finished. That is all I request."

Mei blinked in surprise, turning to regard her, only to see that her expression remained blank and stoic. "Okay, I suppose that's fine," she replied meekly. "It was yours to begin with. I can't give you the weather machine, though."

"Weather machine?"

"Yes. With the sonic technology we'll be able to remove the hurricane, not just shelter the city from the storm. As such, we will have to be here for a week."

"Understood."

As the door opened, it revealed the large pink-haired woman who smiled broadly. "Ah! Satya!"

"Alexsandra," she greeted less excitedly. "How was your plane ride?"

"An earful," the buff woman sighed. "Who is your friend?"

"Mei," the climatologist greeted, offering her hand. "I feel like I recognize you. Were you a member of Overwatch?"

"Ha! No, no. I once was part of the Russian military and I assisted Overwatch a few times, but I was never truly a member. I am Alexsandra, but you may call me Zarya. My friends do," she noted, shooting a look at Symmetra.

"I prefer to use real names."

"I'm sure you do, 'Symmetra'," Zarya challenged smugly. "Anyway, about my problem…"

"We have another problem. One that is more pressing."

"How so?"

"A hurricane is on its way to shore. It will destroy the city if we do not catch…"

"There she is!" A familiar voice called as a streak of light came racing down the corridor. Turning to look, they were shocked to see Lucio and Dan rushing towards them. "You get your friend, I'll handle Symmetra," he instructed, leveling the sonic cannon and firing a volley towards her.

With a flourish of her hand, a shield appeared in front of her, dispersing the sound before she began charging up her particle beam. "We are under fire!" Zarya cried, dropping the case down that contained her beam cannon. "Get behind us, Mei."

"No, wait!" Mei cried trying to stop the fighting, but Dan had already rushed forward, carried by Lucio's sound to snag his boss away from the two. Just as he went to turn back, Zarya grabbed him easily by the back of his shirt and hurled him into the wall. "Stop!" Mei tried to say, but no one was listening.

"Now, it's time for the fireworks," Sombra murmured from her room far away, beginning to press a series of buttons. "Wake up, mi cielito. It is time to have some fun. Boop!" With one final push in the buttons, gauges began to appear on screen, showing the many drastic changes happening within Dan's mind and body.

First, she removed the body's built in safety mechanisms. There'd be no passing out for him, regardless of how hard he was hit. Not until he was dead, anyway. His body's muscles flexed, removing their usage limitations that were normally to protect one's self from their own strength. Finally, his pain receptors shut down, meaning that he'd be able to take even the fiercest attacks as if they were mosquito bites.

Now in full control of his features, she pressed a few more buttons and activated his survival instincts. Now, he'd fight as if his life depended on it. In a way it did. If he failed this test run, well it just meant she'd have to try again. Otherwise, she'd be rid of the pesky bitch once and for all.

Dan stood, just as Zarya threw one of her big meaty fists at his jaw, despite Mei's protests. However, in a blur of movement, he raised one hand, catching her punch on his palm and stopping it cold. Zarya's eyes widened. "Is not possible," she murmured in awe, before he returned with a punch of his own, sending her reeling back in surprise. "You are strong," she commented, wiping a bit of blood from her lip. "I am impressed." Dan said nothing, extending his fists in front of him and waiting for her to come after him again. "Even still, I am strongest there is! You cannot hope to defeat…me?"

Zarya's next swing ended when he spun, catching her by the wrist and with an inhuman amount of force flipped her over his shoulder, throwing her to the wall just as she'd done. Despite his smaller stature, he forced her arm behind her, pressing it up as if to break her shoulder.

Using her military training, she attempted to elbow him hard in the face, and when the blow made contact, he didn't even flinch. She'd struck him hard enough that it should have dislocated his jaw, but it seemed like he wasn't even phased.

Mei ran to him, grabbing his free arm and trying to pull him away. "Dan, stop it! She's a friend! They want to help us, there's no reason to-oof!" Without a word he flung her off of him, before kicking Zarya in the back of her shins hard enough to drop her to her knees.

"Yes, yes!" Sombra cheered, her fingers flying wildly in the air to adjust his parameters as needed. "Now, finish the job. Do it! We shall teach our _friend_ that she needs to send us better toys, no?"

Releasing her arm, Dan grabbed Zarya tightly by the chin, his other hand going to her head. Immediately, the Russian warrior realized he was going to snap her neck, and worse, that with his unbelievable strength, he'd actually be able to do it.

She clamped her hands down on his wrists, squeezing as tightly as she could in an attempt to pry them from her body. She could even hear the sounds of his bones cracking under the pressure of her immense grip, but he didn't even grunt.

"What are you?" she hissed through gritted teeth, her strength beginning to fade from the effort of having to restrain him.

"Release her," Symmetra ordered, attaching her photon beam to him, trying to drain him of his energy. Even still, he just stood there.

"Woo! Forgetting about me, sweetheart?" Lucio called, releasing a concussive blast of sound that knocked her away from Dan. "Yo, we've got your girl! We don't need any blood on our hands. Knock her out and let's bail," he instructed, but Dan didn't budge.

"Something's wrong with him," Mei coughed, the wind having been knocked out of her by his blow. "We need to stop him."

"Stop him?" Lucio scoffed. "He came here for you!"

As Zarya's hands began to become limp, Dan twisted her neck first in one direction to build momentum for the final wrench that would end her life once and for all.

Just as Sombra was about to put in the command, alarms began to blare all around her, causing her to shut down the program in a panic. "What is that?!" she exclaimed, moving to pull up security feeds. Sure enough, three men were advancing on the compound. "Damn it. Interrupting my fun! You'd better put up a challenge."

Dan suddenly froze, his eyes dilating slightly as his nerves reactivated, reminding him of all of the vicious blows he'd taken. Realizing her opportunity, Zarya flung his hands from her neck, turning and grabbing him around the waist. With a quick bridge backwards at her hips, she slammed him down hard in a devastating German suplex.

His body crumpled like a sack of bricks as he lay there, unable to move. He began gasping for air, immense pain racking his body from the way his muscles had torn under the strain of his great strength, and the feeling of his cracked jaw and broken wrists.

"Dan!" Mei cried, rushing to his side and placing her hands gingerly on his cheeks. "Dan, speak to me! Dan!"

"Pah. Back away, Mei. I will finish this cad," Zarya declared, but Mei quickly hurled herself over him protectively. "What are you doing?"

"Please," Mei begged. "Don't hurt him. Something's wrong with him. He's not like this, I swear. I don't know what's going on, but this isn't him."

"He tried to kill me," Alexsandra stated grumpily. "I will wring his tiny neck like squirrel he is."

"No, don't. Please. Look, I'll restrain him. We can keep him chained up or something, but he needs help. Please don't hurt him."

"Ss...som...somb…" Dan wheezed, trying to blurt out a name, anything. With one last breath, he managed to utter, finally, "Sombra." With that, he passed out cold, leaving Mei sniffling over his body.

"Come on," Lucio urged her, nudging her to her feet. "Let me take a look at him. I know a thing or two about patching people up."

"R-really?" she asked.

"The power of music is strong."

Mei sank. "I...don't think that music will help in this case," she murmured, just as he swiped the modified sonic cannon to begin playing a different track of music. She frowned. "Listen, I appreciate the help, but we need to get him to a doctor."

"Hold on," Lucio assured. "It takes a little time. Let's see if I can turn it up a bit."

Now she was beginning to get angry. "Lucio! It's _just_ music. It can't cure broken bones or…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Lucio interrupted, holding up his hand. " _Just_ music? _Just music?_ Let me break it down for you, amiga. Music is the most powerful force on the planet, understand? When you needed a part for your weather machine, what's the first thing you looked for? That's right, my musical sonic cannon. I've also read your journal, Professor Zhao, and guess what, you've said before the original inspiration was from, you guessed it, my music. When Vaswani's being oppressive…"

"We are _not_ being oppressive. _You_ are being chaotic," Symmetra countered. "We are trying to make Rio de Janeiro a better place, you filthy ingrate."

"I'm sorry, what do you call setting up strict curfews, beating citizens who disagree, and imprisoning people who speak out? Do you not call that oppression? Everyone deserves to live as they choose, and my music, unlike anything you or your corrupt company has ever done for Rio, has saved lives and brought hope to the people." Turning back to Mei, he let out a huff. "As I was saying meu docinho, this world we're on turns to the sound of music. Without it, what would soothe the savage beasts? What would make people dance and sing? Music, more than any force in the world, has rallied people to the side of freedom and justice."

"Yes, but…"

"Just look," he gestured, pointing towards Dan. His breathing had already started to become more regular, and as the golden vibrations raced over him, his muscles had stopped spasming. Even the pained look on his face had faded. "So you see, there's no such thing as _just_ music. Music is life."

"Pretty speech, but you're still nothing more than a common crook," Satya growled.

"If that's the case, then why is your company so scared of me?" Lucio smirked before lifting Dan in his arms. "Speaking of which, this stuffy place is making me nauseous. Come on, Professor. Let me show you to my home."

Symmetra snagged Mei's arm quickly. "Do not go with him. This is a big mistake, I warn you. We can still help you with your machine, but if you go with this thief, then you will have burned a bridge that you cannot bring back."

The climatologist looked from her, back to the freedom fighter who was carrying her boyfriend, and back to the other two again. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "Dan comes first. I don't really care about your politics or about your company's agenda. All I care about is saving Dan and the city of Rio." With that, she chased after Lucio who gave her a warm smile.

Symmetra was beet red with anger, and as she went to give the command for lockdown, Zarya rested her hand on her shoulder before shaking her head. "Do not be so harsh on them, Satya. She has a good heart. I trust her to do what is right. It is why I am not so angry about squirrely man. Two broken wrists and dislocated jaw...thinking now is fair trade for trying to kill me."

"A good heart does not make up for the crimes he's committed, nor does it assist in saving this city," she snapped, before Zarya wrapped her arms tightly around her in a bearhug. "What are you doing?!" Satya exclaimed in shock, struggling to get out of her embrace.

"It's called a hug, pchelka."

"I know what a hug is," she grumbled. "Why are you giving me one?"

"I am restraining you from doing something foolish like going after them. Don't even bother trying to escape, you know you can't." The powerful woman smirked at the smaller one, who just let out a grumpy huff.

"Fine," she sighed.

* * *

Winston scowled intensely at his former commanding officer as he accused his pupil of being a traitor. Then, the scowl slowly turned to a smile. He began to chuckle, then laugh uproariously. The thought of it was so ridiculous! "What have you been dosing this old man with, Ana?" Winston chortled. "Dan. A Talon Agent! That's absolutely hilarious. Hahaha!"

"I for one think that it's rude to simply come in here and accuse him of such things," Hana chimed in, standing beside the ape. "I don't take it you have any evidence of what you're saying."

"Let it go, Hana," Pharha tried, placing her hands on the smaller girl's shoulders, but she just shoved her away.

"Oh please," she scoffed. "You'd be the first to jump on the bandwagon to start some sort of witch hunt for him. Don't even try to deny it! You're lucky you didn't put him in the hospital when you attacked him!"

"Lucky isn't the word I'd use."

"It is lucky, because if you had, the only words that would be exchanged between us would be 'Hana, why are you pointing a gun at me?' Followed by the sound of a plasma bolt melting through your skull!"

"Easy, Hana," Winston lectured, placing his massive hand in front of her and sweeping her away from the other woman. "We are not starting a manhunt for Dan. The accusations are ridiculous!"

"Winston," Ana said softly. "Have we ever misled you before?"

The ape glared at her. "Yes. The moment you both pretended to be dead. Do you even know anything about the man you're claiming is a traitor? He came here when he was sixteen years old. I've practically raised him like a son for the last decade. He's scared to death of guns. He hates violence. You're talking about a brilliant mind wrapped in a childlike naivety that cares more for this world than either of you ever have! To accuse him of being an agent of Talon is just as foolish as accusing me or Mercy of being an agent of Talon."

"Winston, I was skeptical at first, too," Ana tried. "I've watched the boy from afar, and I agree, he has a good heart. That's when we discovered something."

"Talon has a new agent. One that's been working in the shadows," Jack explained. "While I was in Dorado, handling the problem with Los Muertos, I found evidence of a former member affiliated with Talon. After some interrogations, we found out that she goes by Sombra. She's an expert hacker. Almost nothing can keep her out."

"So?" Winston snorted.

"She can hack people, Winston," Ana said ominously. "We think she managed to track down Dan before he came to Overwatch, reprogrammed him as a sleeper agent, and is now using him to observe the inner workings of our organization."

" _My_ organization," Winston growled. "You forfeited any right to call it yours when you turned your back on us! We are supposed to be a family, and that means you betrayed your family. I don't care what reasons you had Ana. You abandoned your own daughter, as well as your friends. As far as I'm concerned, you're still dead to me."

"Enough." Tracer's single word had echoed in the room with the same amount of presence as a gunshot. She stood, removing the blanket that had been wrapped around her shoulders. Everyone fell silent as she walked towards the group. "I'm willing to ignore the fact that you've kept your lives secret for the last decade. I'm willing to let go of the fact that you placed me into what you knew was my worst nightmare. What I have a problem with is that you are making accusations against Dan. I brought him to Overwatch. If he is a traitor, that means that I'm a traitor, too. I dare you both to look me in the eyes and tell me that I have not sacrificed everything I can for Overwatch." The two of them remained completely silent as the normally cheerful pilot stood there, a scowl on her face. "Dan is not a traitor. If he is a sleeper agent, he doesn't know it. I'm certain. If what you say is true and he's been 'hacked' or whatever you want to call it, that is our responsibility to handle it, not yours. I don't appreciate the two of you holding on to this information for so long, when for two weeks you claimed you had enough evidence to bring this to us. Right now, Dan is in Rio de Janeiro instead of being safe here, where he would be if you two had just told us everything up front. My problem is that you waited for so long to mention this to us and it's entirely possible that because of that, it may be too late to save him, and if that's the case then I will _never_ forgive you." With that, she turned away from them and began marching towards the hangar where her jet was parked. "Come on Hana, let's go save Dan."

"Yes, ma'am!" she cried excitedly, running after her to catch up.

* * *

Pulling back the string of his bow with a creak, Hanzo fired his sonic emitter straight into the wall of Talon's complex. Sure enough, it began granting the shapes of enemies to him within the wall. All seemed normal for now.

He was still furious with Genji for refusing to go with him if Mercy did not tag along. That she-devil had managed to seduce his younger brother with her feminine wiles, and that was not something that the older Shimada brother approved of.

Rushing to the barbed fence that stood on the outskirts of the building, he quickly fired an arrow to slice a piece of the jagged metal before scaling it. As he landed on the other side of the fence with a thud, his eyes scanned the horizon to ensure that no one had noticed his presence. When all appeared silent, he allowed himself a confident smirk.

Taking another step forward, the grin immediately dropped from his face as alarms began going off all around the complex. Dozens of armed guards came rushing out from the building, and began firing at him with their assault rifles.

As he ran just ahead of their fire, he quickly drew an arrow, his mind performing the necessary calculations in the blink of an eye. Firing the arrow just precisely, it flew through the chain link fence that they fired from, striking a metal pole on the other side and deflecting back before exploding in shrapnel that wiped out half of their forces.

Even still, he could not stop running as an entire army seemed to pour forth. Finally reaching the brick wall, he slung his bow over his back, and began clambering up the building. The small metal hooks that he wore beneath his fingertips allowed him to grip the sheer face easily, as his fit body still managed to leap and dodge the incoming hail of bullets.

Rolling himself onto the roof, he quickly hit the deck, and as bullets whizzed overhead, he could hear the sound of commands being barked to go to his position. He was trapped. If he stood up, he'd be dead. If he stayed here, they'd find him and he'd be dead.

Just as he drew an arrow to prepare, the door to the roof burst open, and a squad of five men leveled their weapons at him. Bracing himself for the end, a voice called out, "Embrace Tranquility!" An Omnic he did not recognize, floated between him and his attackers.

Even though the bullets continued to fire, they seemed to pass through the Omnic harmlessly, and even the cuts and scrapes Hanzo had received seemed to vanish in the light that exuded from him.

Realizing his opportunity, Hanzo stood drawing his arrow and firing back upon the soldiers, taking out two of them, before three shuriken wiped out the other three. As the light faded, Hanzo turned to see his brother, steam hissing from his armor as another handful of shuriken were dispensed from his wrist. "Genji?" he asked in disbelief. "What are you doing here?"

"I know you all too well, brother," he commented. "I knew your pride would lead you here, regardless of how dangerous it was. I could not let my brother perish at his own hands."

Hanzo let out a derisive scoff. "I would have been just fine. I appreciate that you have finally returned to your senses and are ready to reclaim your familial honor." Looking towards the Omnic, he frowned. "But I see you still disobeyed and brought an outsider with you."

"You are wrong brother," Genji replied. "You said that this was a matter for family. Zenyatta is my master, and my family." While the features of his face did not change, the light in Zenyatta's eyes indicated that inside he was smiling. "Also, I did not come here for my familial honor. I came here for you."

"Bah, your sentimental weakness will get us all killed."

"It is your lack of 'sentimental weakness' that has put you in such jeopardy to begin with," Zenyatta observed calmly. "When one is able to put aside thoughts of rage and hatred, only then will they begin to see the truth through the lens of peace and tranquility."

"You should listen to him brother," Genji agreed, patting Hanzo on the shoulder. "My master served as a guiding light in my darkest of times. It is because of his teachings that I have made peace with the man I am today."

"You are hardly a man," Hanzo snapped angrily. "A man is flesh, blood, bone, spirit! Not twisted scraps of metal and discarded honor." His eyes went through his younger brother to the Omnic behind him. "You may be pretend to be a man all you want, but at the end of the day, Genji, you are broken and you only have yourself to blame for disobeying our father."

With that, the archer turned on his heels, and stepped over the pile of bodies to descend into the building. Hanging back for a moment, Genji gave a soft sigh. He'd hoped his brother would see reason. How could he possibly make him understand that his love for him is what allowed him to embrace his humanity and machinery? "Do not fret too greatly, my pupil," Zenyatta stated assuredly. "He lashes out at you, the same way a cornered animal will lash out at even something bigger than itself. He too realizes you are being the bigger man, and that is what frightens him so greatly. Exercise patience, together we will help him to see the light."

As always, his mentor's words calmed the younger ninja. "I suppose you are right, Master, as always. I cannot thank you enough again for assisting me with this matter. I wished to bring Doctor Ziegler along, but she said that it was probably best that she instead report to Overwatch to attempt to get us some support. I know her and my brother do not see eye to eye, and I hope that someday they will learn to accept one another."

"Genji, you are like the rock that sits in the middle of the river. As life courses around you, you feel that it is pulling you in two different directions. But recall, the river always comes back together in the end. We are all one within the Iris, even if we do not wish to be." Zenyatta slowly hovered towards the door before extending his arm to gesture for Genji to lead the way.

"Thank you Master...again."

"As you said, Genji, we are family. Family does not ask for gratitude, but can only request happiness for one another. If this will help to make you happy, Genji, then I will gladly endure your brother's insults."

* * *

"Overwatch! Repeat, this is Jesse McCree, reporting in as requested, over." Releasing the button on the tank's HAM radio, he frowned when only static came back. "Where in tarnation is everyone, over?"

"Are you sure they still use such old equipment?" Brigitte asked. "Why don't you use your wrist communicator."

"Darn thing was busted when that fat sonovabitch was draggin' my ass through the desert," McCree grumbled, before realizing who he was speaking to and again tipping his hat. "Beg you pardon my French."

As Brigitte shook her head, returning to the front of the tank, Reinhardt clapped his old friend on the back, nearly knocking him off his feet again. Thanks to the numbing gel like sealant that was applied to his wound, as well as the skilled suture job that was given to him, he was already able to stand again. "I think she likes you," the knight commented.

"So she's like...what? Your daughter or something?" Jesse quizzed. "Where'd you pick her up?"

"Oh, no, no, no," the large man quickly refuted. "Brigitte is simply a dear friend. The two of us have been travelling for a long while, and to be completely honest, nobody can polish my armor quite like her, if you know what I mean."

The cowboy blinked in shock, looking towards her in bewilderment. She was barely half of Reinhardt's age. "Don't let your imagination run away with your better sense, cowboy," she called back without even turning around. "He means that literally."

"Aye, I do! She makes my armor shine better than the first day it was forged."

"Back when dinosaurs roamed the earth?" Jesse scoffed.

"Ha! That is a funny joke, friend! Actually my armor was a gift from my Master who was the lord of my village of Eichenwalde. Now that was a man! It's rumored his armor still sits within his castle, just waiting to be reclaimed. Oh how I'd love to get my hands on it."

"Actually, that's not a bad idea," Brigitte chimed in. "That last stunt you pulled managed to damage the output nozzle for your rocket thrust. I could try to hammer it back out, but it'd be pretty tough to steer yourself."

"So friend, what have you been up to?" Reinhardt asked. "I have heard that you yourself have gotten something of a little brother, no?"

"Who, the kid? I mean, don't get me wrong, I enjoy his company, but he's first and foremost a responsibility. I gotta make sure he's taken care of and what not. So far, my job has not been going smoothly. It took forever to break him of being gunshy and even then, I had to trick him into thinking he was using tranquilizer bullets."

"You gave him real bullets and told them they were tranquilizers?!" Brigitte gasped. "That's horrible!"

"Hey," he argued, "If they're dead, that's tranquil enough for me. Anyway, the kid was saying that Winston wanted to get ahold of me, and seeing as how my mission in the desert was a bust, it leaves me in need of orders anyway. Too bad this gosh darned radio ain't workin'. Lord knows the kid probably scrapped it for parts to make some sort of robotic flapjack flipper or something."

"What if you used my communicator?" Reinhardt offered, taking the device off his wrist and presenting it to McCree.

For a long while, the cowboy was silent before he took it from his hands. "You didn't think for that entire hour and a half I've been fooling with that radio to mention you had a spare on you the whole time?" Grumbling under his breath to purge his irritation, he pressed a few buttons and sure enough, he was soon patched through by Athena. "Winston. Dan said you have some mission you need for me to get back to the base for. I figured I'd check in with you and save me a trip back to Gibraltar."

"Hello, Jesse. We have something of a situation here," he huffed.

That was never good news. "What sort of situation?"

"See for yourself," he said, turning his communicator to show Ana and Jack, now sitting at a table and enjoying a mug of coffee and a cup of tea.

"I'll be damned…" McCree gasped.

"Ana! Jack! You're alive!" Reinhardt exclaimed with glee over his shoulder. "It is so good to see you friends! Tell me how have you been?"

Ana smiled at the camera giving a polite wave. "It is good to see you as well Reinhardt. It seems that the life of adventure has been kind to you."

"You look very lovely as well," he replied flirtatiously. "Especially for a dead woman."

"Oh, you…" she giggled like a young girl, waving off his compliments.

"Anyway," Jack cleared his throat, looking to the camera. "Jesse, you and Reinhardt need to get back here on the double. There's been a breach of security and we need all hands on deck."

"Alleged breach of security," Winston corrected. "But he is right. Both of you get back here as fast as you can, and we'll explain everything once you're here."

"Roger. McCree over and out," Jesse stated before turning off the communicator and passing it back to the knight. "What do you think that means? Breach of security. Why would they need us?"

"Whatever it is, it must be serious," Reinhardt agreed. "Either way, I am excited to be returning It has been far too long since we've gotten to have a true adventure together old friend. I look forward to standing beside you in battle." As he clapped him roughly on the back again, McCree bit his tongue to remind him that they didn't even know if there really was going to be a battle. Right now, Jesse's biggest concern was that, if Jack and Ana were alive, who all else wasn't truly dead?

To be continued...


	17. Chapter 17

Enraptured in Ice Ch. 17

 **AN: Hello everyone! Sorry it took so long on this chapter. I have just been all over the place lately. You can rest assured I will not be dropping this story. Sad to say, we're actually nearing the end of it, BUT don't worry, for a suggestion was made to me and I think I will most likely act upon it. So, if you guys would like to see an alternate timeline sort of thing where Dan meets Hana before he meets Mei, and they end up together, let me know your thoughts in the reviews. In addition, for those of you who like much better smut than is presented in this series, you'll be happy to know I have some smutty Dan. Va. (as I call it) exclusives for those who add me on Skype: Kiba Vulpus Elunal. Thank you all for your support! All of your messages of concern were very helpful as I've been going through a bit of a rough patch. It really means alot to me, and I wish you guys the best of luck in life and literature. -Kiba**

Mei and Lucio sat silently in the room of his small hideaway. Dan still lay on Lucio's bed, broken and beaten, his chest struggling even to draw breath. Mei was terrified. It was like his accident with the machine all over again. "You must really care about him," Lucio commented. "I can see it on your face."

"Yes," Mei admitted. "He means more to me than almost anything."

"It's a shame he's already with someone. I could foresee you two making a good couple."

" _I_ am that someone," she explained with a soft smile. "He and I work together, but somehow, he made me fall in love with him. I suppose there is a first time for everything, but I never would have guessed it would happen like this."

"What? I thought he was with Hana Song."

"He _was_ ," Mei emphasized. The climatologist gave a soft sigh, moving to Dan's bedside and sitting beside him. Reaching out with her hand, she gently stroked his hair while Lucio's music worked to patch him up. "Why is it taking so long?"

"Did you not see the size of that woman?" Lucio exclaimed. "I'm surprised he wasn't taken out with the first punch."

"That is something else that concerns me. I've never seen Dan so cold before. He's a pacifist, and yet...I've never seen him act quite like that. He's not even that strong. Most likely, I could overpower him. Whatever happened to him, it is troubling." Mei's wrist communicator began to beep furiously, drawing her attention away from her boyfriend. "This is Mei, go ahead Watchpoint."

"Mei, this is Tracer," the british accent came through. "Have you got eyes on our Dan?"

"Y-yes, Tracer. I fear he is not in excellent condition. Something happened and he weas injured. He's healing right now, but I'll be happy to have him contact you when he wakes up."

"That's not necessary, love. We've locked on to your co-ordinates and are preparing for landing."

"They're doing what now?!" Lucio asked just a loud roar overtook the musical remedy. Outside, a jet slowly descended like a helicopter to come to a landing just outside of the shack. "Oh God, they're going to bring Vaswani right to me," he groaned. As the two rushed outside, the cockpit opened, revealing Hana and Tracer. Lucio's eyes widened as the two women clambered out to land smartly in the dust. "I can't believe it. Is that D. Va, in the flesh? And you..I recognize you! Weren't you a member of Overwatch?"

"Where's Dan?" Hana demanded, walking right past the man to force open the door. "Is he in here?" When her eyes fell upon the battered body of the technician, she quickly rushed to his side. "Dan! Dan, speak to me!" she pleaded, taking his hand in hers.

"Forgive her," Tracer apologized to the two. "She's been antsy the entire way here."

"How are you feeling, Lena? Dan told me what happened," Mei asked, trying to ignore the fact that Hana was so close to him.

"I'm much better now," she surrendered. "Nothing like trouble with an old friend to snap you out of your own problems, I suppose. Also, aren't you going to introduce me to your friend here?" She offered her hand with a smile. "Lena Oxford, though you can call me Tracer."

"Wow! I can't believe I'm actually getting to meet you in person. I swear, it's like celebrities are falling out of the sky or something. Betty White isn't going to be making a guest appearance is she? I'm Lucio."

"Lucio? As in the musician?"

"The very same. Though I'm doing less concerts and more freedom fighting lately."

"Yes! I have heard about that! Very great work! It's nice to see there are still heroes around."

"Aw shucks, you're making me blush," he laughed. "Anyway, come on in. I'll show you where your friend is resting."

Mei followed behind them, her eyes glued to Hana. While she held no illwill against the younger girl, it didn't change that she was a bit nervous about the entire situation. What had happened between the two of them while she was gone? Just because Dan had told her that she was the only girl for him didn't mean he'd told Hana.

"What happened to him?" Hana murmured, sinking to sit beside him. Her hand absently went to caress his cheek, before noting the enormous bruise on his jaw. "Someone hit him?"

"We need to talk about that," Mei admitted. "Perhaps it were best if we discussed this privately…"

"Say no more," Lucio sighed. "I'll be outside, stretching my legs and hiding your plane. I don't want Vaswani descending on this place like a bunch of vultures."

After he left, Mei took a deep breath to begin explaining, but Tracer interrupted her. "Let me guess. He suddenly began acting strangely. He attacked someone for no reason, didn't respond to you when you spoke to him, and was injured heavily when he suddenly became lucid."

"How did you…?"

Tracer and Hana exchanged nervous glances. "They were telling the truth then," Hana whispered. Tears began building up in her eyes as she buried her face in her hands. "What are we going to do?"

"We're going to save him, of course," Tracer tried, wrapping an arm around the smaller girl. "It'll be okay. No need to cry, love."

"I still don't know what's going on!" Mei complained. "Will someone please fill me in?"

"Dan is a sleeper agent for Talon," Tracer stated. "He found me locked up by Ana and Jack, both of whom are still alive. They've been keeping tabs on him for the last month or so. They say that Talon has a new operative that is able to even hack people."

"How is that even possible?" Mei gasped.

"It's hard to believe you've been gone for so long," Tracer noted. "While you were frozen, a new medical procedure was invented using nanobots to help remove certain illnesses and speed up a person's recovery from injury. It's entirely possible that if she can hack into the self contained network they use, that she'll be able to control a person completely. She could remove their ability to feel pain, repair muscles the moment they're damaged, even control their minds. The only predicament is she'd have to have done it in person to put her own receiver in. Dan must have one himself."

Mei stared down at him in shock. "But he's going to be okay...right?"

"Of course!" Hana snapped. "Dan isn't going to let someone just control him! He can fight back! He'll win! He's not going to…" she stopped, her shoulders heaving as she began to cry more. "Right?" she asked. "He's going to be okay…right, Tracer?"

The three women all stared at one another, trying to find comfort in the gaze of the other two, but the truth was all three of them were terrified. "Wait a tick," Tracer suddenly exclaimed, catching her palm on her hand. "Hold everything! I know how to help Dan!"

"You do?" Mei questioned excitedly.

"Yes! I knew you could think of something!" Hana cheered.

"We need an expert in machines. Someone even better than Dan."

"Where are we going to find someone like that?" Mei demanded. "Winston doesn't even have that kind of know-how. He taught Dan a lot, but Dan also taught himself most of his knowledge."

"Maybe so, but whose books do you think he'd been reading to teach himself? Who in Overwatch has enough knowledge of machinery to give Dan the knowledge he knows?" Tracer pressed, her smile getting bigger. "I'll give you a hint, his temper is as short as he his."

Mei's eyes widened. "You mean…"

"Who? Who?!" Hana complained.

"Torbjörn!" Tracer beamed. "That man is a marvel with machines, and it was his notebooks that Dan used to create his inventions. If we can track him down, we can have him create some sort of interceptor to help Dan."

As all three girls began to discuss their options rapidly, things seemed to finally be picking up.

* * *

As Angela boarded the flight from America to Gibraltar, she calmly flipped through the pages of her magazine. She didn't often take the time to relax and let her hair down, but on planes, she enjoyed taking her time to be more 'girly' than she typically did. "Hello," a woman greeted her cheerfully as she began stowing her things in the rack above her.

"Hello," Angela greeted back, before seeing that behind the women were two men she recognized. "Jesse? Reinhardt? What are you two doing out here?" she gasped.

The woman she'd just met looked over her shoulder at the two confused. "You know them?"

"Doc, good to see you."

"Indeed," Reinhardt grinned broadly. "Apologies. Brigitte meet Dr. Ziegler. She was once a companion of ours on the battlefield. You won't find a better medic anywhere else in the world!"

"Th-thank you for that," Mercy stammered. "But why are you both here on this plane? You didn't plan on dragging me back, did you?"

"Drag you back?" Reinhardt asked as he collapsed into the seat beside her. "Did you leave?"

"Y-yes."

As Brigitte and Jesse also sat down, McCree smirked to himself. "If that was what you were concerned about Doc, then I'd be curious as to why you voluntarily got on a plane to Gibraltar. Makes me kind of wonder if maybe you weren't so keen on leavin' after all. Tell the truth, you just miss the kid, dontcha?" Just as she was about to protest, Brigitte nudged the cowboy hard in the ribs.

"Leave her be, Jesse. It's a pleasure to meet you Doctor Ziegler. I'm Reinhardt's assistant, and now apparently, babysitter to a cowboy. Don't mind him. He's still in a bit of pain from an incident we faced in the desert. We're heading to the base ourselves so that we can report to Winston for a mission."

"Please, call me Angela," she suggested. "And no, Jesse, I'm actually not going to visit Dan. I need to speak with Winston about a request on behalf of a mutual friend. Talon has been giving him some trouble and it'd be nice if erm…" she looked around before lowering her voice, "Overwatch gave some assistance."

"Overwatch may have some concerns of its own on its plate right now, Doc. Not that you can't ask, but I'm afraid some information has come to light that may be a bit jarring. Even for you."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Jack and Ana are alive!" the larger man blurted, causing her eyes widen.

"Sorry, we're working on bluntness," Brigitte promised.

"They're alive?" Mercy repeated in disbelief. "How can they possibly be alive?"

"No idea," McCree answered. "You can ask them yourself once we get there though. They're just sitting around drinking coffee like nothing happened. To be honest, it right pisses me off."

"Understandably," she agreed. "Why have they come back now after all this time?"

"You're just as in the dark as we are," the cowboy replied.

Mercy sank back in her chair, just as her watch began to beep. "Oh! Reinhardt, it's time for you to take your medication. Do you need something to drink? I'm sure we can get one of the flight attendants to…"

"Bah!" the larger man scoffed. "I don't need any medication! I've been as healthy as an ox, doctor."

"Why on earth do you have an alarm for his medication?" Jesse pressed.

"I...have one for all of my friends," she admitted bashfully. "I programmed them when I was taking care of them, and my nostalgia keeps me from turning them off. It helps me to remember to think about everyone at least once a day." She then added, "And it doesn't matter how you _feel_ Reinhardt! You can relapse into cardiac arrest if you stress yourself too much and don't have your blood pressure medication!"

"That's silly! I haven't been taking it for years!" he bragged, smiling broadly.

"Hey Reinhardt, I've got your lunch that I packed," Brigitte replied, passing it to him.

"Oh! Thank you, Brigitte! I was beginning to get hungry. You're always such a good girl." He pat her affectionately on the head before wolfing down the sandwich.

Brigitte leaned over to Mercy with a soft smile before whispering to her, "Don't worry. I've been slipping his pill into his food since I found the bottle he tried to throw away. He's kind of like a dog. I've actually had to wrap it in cheese before."

Mercy had to conceal a chuckle. "I'm glad that you're there to take care of him. You care about him a lot, I can see. Just be careful. Don't let your care for him consume your life, okay? I'm sure you had dreams of your own. Don't give them up for anyone else's sake."

"Doctor Ziegler," she replied, "with all due respect, I doubt you became a doctor because you didn't let your care for others consume your life."

Angela smiled at the woman. "I suppose you have me there," she admitted. "You know, you really remind me of someone."

"Oh?"

"Yes. A bright pupil of my own. As Jesse said, he's at Gibraltar right now. I'm sure you'll love meeting him. Dan is such a sweet boy. I think you two will get along great."

"Ladies and gentlemen, we'll be departing shortly. Please stow all belongings and buckle all seat belts for take off. Thank you."

Looking up at the overhead speakers, Brigitte smiled politely before resting her head against the chair's headrest. "I'm sure I will. Thank you, Angela. I apologize if I fall asleep on you. I'm afraid most of my nights have been spent driving and listening to David Hasselhoff music lately."

"Don't mind me. I'm probably going to have a nap myself, so just get some rest. You've earned it."

* * *

Hanzo, Genji, and Zenyatta sped down the halls, firing their various weaponry in many directions as numerous guards were dispatched under their assault. Hanzo gave a slight huff. He knew in his heart that he owed his brother for this help, but he was far too stubborn to admit such a thing.

"Wait," he instructed, firing another one of his sonic arrows at the far wall. Something had tripped his senses, and he was certain that the farther they went in, the thinner their forces seemed to be. It should have been the opposite.

Sure enough, there was the figure of a woman just behind the wall. She was moving about on some sort of console, but the three couldn't identify what it was specifically she was doing. "Brother, we should move quickly," Genji insisted, but Hanzo kept his hand raised to instruct them to hold.

His tattoos began to glow as he reached deep within himself. He could feel the power of the dragon deep inside of him, roaring to life and demanding blood to sate its hunger. Drawing back his bow, the power raced into his arrow as he aimed it straight towards the wall. "Ryuu ga waga teki wo kurau!" he chanted the ancient words of power before releasing the arrow in a fierce spiral of ethereal energy.

Sombra smirked as she heard the sound of the rushing dragon. So he'd actually tried it as she suspected. Pressing the final few buttons, an electrical field roared to life, capturing the energy within it as the dragons lashed furiously as being trapped. "Impossible!" Genji gasped.

Activating her teleporter, she suddenly blinked from existence to reappear behind the three and opening fire with her machine guns. "Behind us!" Zenyatta cried, causing the three warriors to wheel about. Genji leapt to the forefront, his blade moving in a blur to deflect the fire as Reaper manifested behind Hanzo.

"You've made a grave mistake," he growled, causing the archer to turn back, just in time to receive a shotgun blast to the chest that sent him flying back into the monk. "Sombra, Amelie. Finish them off," he commanded.

"Working on it, pendejo!" Sombra retorted, switching between dodging the reflected bullets and firing upon the ninja.

Meanwhile, her free hand moved in a blur as energy leapt from her glove towards the omnic. "What is happening to me?" Zenyatta hissed as his body spasmed against his will. Raising his hand towards Genji's back, fear gripped his mechanical mind. Surely she didn't mean to… "Genji! Run!" he gasped.

The ninja managed to see his mentor just as he was about to strike, and quickly rushed forward, his body propelling him with his plasma jets past the hacker. "After him!" Gabriel cried to Amelie, who began firing down the hall at him.

The cyborg ninja could feel the heat of the bullets racing past him. Fear gripped his heart as he barely managed to reach the door. "Brother, forgive me," he whispered. Just as he was about to reach freedom, a grappling hook raced to him, grabbing his back and pulling him back towards the fray.

Just as he thought he'd reached his end, an arrow flew, severing the cord and planting into the wall. Genji turned to see his brother, giving him an affirmative nod before Reaper slammed one of his guns over the back of his head, sending him crumpling to the ground beside the now powered down Omnic.

"Sombra, he is getting away!" Amelie cried, but Genji knew what he had to do. There was no help for his brother or master now, save the one person he knew would be able to help. All he could hope was that they would be alive when he returned. Overwatch would not let this stand, he knew.

As he managed to hop the fence and vanish into the wilds, Sombra let out a cry of frustration before casting her gun on the ground. "Take them to the holding cells!" she demanded. "It's time for us to make some new toys to play with."

* * *

When Dan finally came to, he found himself alone, save Hana who was curled up on the bed beside him. He quickly jerked away in shock, and immediately regretted doing so as pain raced through his entire being, causing him to cry out.

Stirring awake, the young gamer turned to see him sitting up in bed, back against the wall. "Dan!" she cried excitedly, giving him a big hug. "I was so worried about you!"

"Hana?" he gasped, the pain from her embrace running up and down his spine. "Too tight."

"Oh, sorry. I guess you're still hurting."

"What happened to me? I feel like I've been hit by a bus."

She frowned. "I'm not entirely sure on all the details," she admitted. "Mei just said you were injured in a fight. She didn't really say how, necessarily." Her tone was sombre and Dan seemed to notice the way she sank when he asked.

"Did I kill someone?" he asked, his mouth going dry.

"No! At least...I don't think so, anyway. I just got here with Tracer." She paused for a moment, gently taking his hand in hers. "Dan, there's something you need to know. I don't know how else to tell you this, but it's very important. You may not believe me at first. I didn't want to believe it either, but...I'm really scared right now, Dan. I know we're not together anymore but…" she sniffed, her eyes starting to tear up, "I'm really worried about you, Dan."

"Hey, I'm not going anywhere," he tried as she snuggled up to him again. He gently raised his arm, tenderly stroking her hair with what little strength he had. "See? I'm alive, still."

"It's not that," she muttered. "We found out why Jack and Ana were at Gibraltar. They were watching you, Dan. They found evidence that you've been a sleeper agent for Talon this entire time."

Dan had to stifle a laugh as Hana looked at him in shock. "Me?" he chortled. " _I'm_ a sleeper agent for Talon? Hana, that's ridiculous! You know me. I'm a pacifist. I can't shoot very well, I'm not able to socialize well, and what's more, I'm best friends with Tracer, possibly one of the nosiest people in Overwatch."

"Dan...it's true," she murmured. "Mei said you went absolutely berserk. You just began hurting people. She tried to stop you, and you just pushed her down. You didn't even stop and...I'm sorry I wasn't here to protect you, Dan."

"I...I don't remember anything," he admitted, rubbing his head. "I remember I was with Lucio. We'd managed to convince him to help us, but Vaswani had Mei and our machine, so I needed to get her out. We got to the door, but it was locked and then…" Dan trailed off, shutting his eyes tightly as he tried to remember what happened after that, but it was all a blank.

"Who's hungry?" Lucio asked as he kicked open the door to his shack. "I got some of the best food Rio has to offer. Ah, Dan! Good to see you up and alive. Catch!" Reaching into the brown paper bag, he pulled out a small parcel wrapped in tin foil before tossing it to him.

Dan hissed from the heat, tossing it between both hands before dropping it onto his blanket covered lap, preventing him from burning himself any further.

"And one for you, little lady," Lucio grinned, handing Hana a similar package as well. Sitting down, he grabbed one for himself from the bag before removing the foil and taking a bite of the golden brown treat within.

"What is it?" Hana asked, sniffing hers carefully before nibbling on a corner.

"Picanha empadas," Lucio answered. "Basically, it's a fried beef pot pie. Best beef you'll ever taste in your life, believe me."

Dan felt as if he hadn't eaten in days. Unwrapping the meal, his stomach grumbled, showing just how hungry he truly was before he scarfed the entire thing down in a few bites. Hana looked at him in shock from how quickly he'd wolfed it down before quickly starting on the next one. "Dan, are you okay?" she asked cautiously.

"Y-yeah, sorry," he replied with his mouth full before he swallowed and repeated himself. "Sorry...Yeah, I'm fine. I just feel really hungry for some reason. How long have I been out?"

"A few hours," the musician informed him.

"I feel like I haven't eaten anything in a week," Dan whined, finish his third one. "Please tell me there's more in the bag."

"Whoa, you may want to slow down a little," Lucio warned. "I love the food of Brazil, but if you keep swallowing it like a snake you're going to wind up with the Rio runs."

"Good news," Tracer announced as she came in. When her eyes fell on Dan though, her announcement died and she quickly zipped over to him for a hug. "Dan! You're awake!"

"Yeah," he groaned gently patting her back. "Still hurting though. I need to start warning before I get more hugs, huh?"

"Listen Dan…"

"Hana's already filled me in. I don't remember anything from when I arrived at Vaswani. Lucio and I got to the door, it was locked, and then nothing."

"Well, thankfully, we've come up with a solution," Mei chimed in, giving a big smile to her boyfriend.

"Mei! Thank goodness, you're okay," Dan said, running to her. The two embraced as Dan kissed her lovingly. "I was so scared, Mei. I thought I'd never see you again."

"You were scared?" Mei choked. "I was terrified! You nearly killed that woman with your bare hands, Dan."

"I don't remember," I swored. "Honest, I don't."

"So much for no hugs," Hana huffed under her breath, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Anyway, I managed to get in touch with Torbjorn through Athena's networking system. He says he's eager to meet you, Dan and that he thinks he can help us get this sorted out."

"Torbjorn? _The_ Torbjorn?" he asked giddily.

Tracer frowned. "Dan, this is serious. Seriously, how can you pretend like none of this ever happened? When Mei brought you back here, you had several broken bones and all of your muscles were torn like tissue paper. Right now, until we get you situated, you need to realize just how much danger we're all in."

Dan sank. "What do you mean?"

His friend sighed. She hated having to spell this out for him, but it was the only way to get him to understand. "Dan, when you went berserk, you didn't even recognize Mei. You probably wouldn't recognize me or Hana or Winston. Right now, you're a ticking time bomb and we don't know what will set you off or when. Just being here right now is a huge risk to us and to you."

"Wh-what are you saying?" Dan asked.

"Tracer…" Mei warned, not wishing to upset him.

"I'm saying, Dan...that if Torbjorn's plan doesn't work, you're going to have to seriously consider leaving Overwatch."

"Tracer!" Hana protested.

"I'm sorry, Dan. I know that hurts to hear. It hurts to say the end though, we have to think what's best for everyone. I know you don't want to leave, but look at the alternative! What if you were to hurt me or Hana? What if you were to hurt Mei?"

"Do not use me in this argument, Tracer," Mei quickly interjected. "I for one will not even consider such a thing until we know for certain there are no other alternatives."

"No, she's right," Dan muttered. "I don't want to hurt you, Mei. If I couldn't recognize you when I flipped...if they made me kill you, Mei...I'd never be able to forgive myself."

Mei hugged him close. "Dan, you don't have to say that," she whispered. "We are going to figure this out, understand? Right now though, you need to pack. We're meeting Torbjorn in Gibraltar in a few days."

"But...the hurricane…"

"Lucio will take care of the machine for the time being. I've already set it up, and it's taken care of," she promised. Gently resting her hands on his cheeks, she leaned closer to give him an eskimo kiss. "Trust me, Dan. You'll see that everything will be just fine."

"Okay," he agreed softly. "I trust you."

With that, he began to pack up the rest of his belongings, Lucio's music having rejuvenated him enough that his body's soreness had become manageable. "Okay, everyone," Tracer called. "Into the jet!" Having filled up all four seats, Dan found himself sandwiched between Mei and Hana, both of which were holding his hand.

He doubted it was because they thought he'd be afraid of take off with Tracer at the wheel. In a way, their walking on eggshells behavior only seemed to make the situation feel more dire.

* * *

As the small Swedish tinkerer continued to pack his things, he could feel his wife's gaze at his back. "So explain to me again, why it is you to have leave so suddenly?"

"I told you hunny bunny," he replied as sweetly as he could. "Overwatch needs me. See, there's this kid and…"

"What about _your_ kids?" she demanded.

"Sugar bear…"

"Don't 'sugar bear' me, mister!"

"It'll only be a few days, then I'll be right back here, safe and sound, with nothin' for you to worry about." Hopping onto a chair that was beside her, he sweetly placed a kiss on her cheek. "You know I'd never leave if it weren't important."

"You mean like that time that they had the kitten stuck in a tree?" she asked flatly.

"Oy! It wasn't stuck in a tree! It was stuck on top of a giant comatose Omnic whose proximity sensors were still active and had laser guided missiles that could level a small country!" he protested.

"And the time you went to have a drink with your old friend?"

"Lily dove, you know that I had _myself_ a drink _after_ I put my 'old friend' out of commission while he was rampaging across the countryside in a giant mechanical monster."

"You just have an excuse for everything, don't you?" she sniffed, tears welling up in her eyes. "Well fine then! Go! Go if you don't want to spend time home with the love of your life and your nine beautiful children."

"Erm...eight," Torbjorn corrected.

"Are you saying I don't know how many children we have?" she gasped in shock.

"No, no, no. I'm saying we have eight children. That's all I'm saying, didn't mean nothin' else by it," he quickly assured her.

"Oh really?" she asked. "Because I'm almost certain for a fact that we have nine."

Torbjorn looked at her incredulously, scratching the side of his head confused and counting on his fingers. "Well, lessee...Anna, Elsa, Maja, Agnes and Oliva, then the boys, Lucas, Liam, and little Wilhelm." He held up his hands for his wife. "See, eight."

She smirked at him. "You're forgetting one."

He looked back at his hands, counting once more in his head. "No, I'm not," he retorted. "We have _eight_ children, I'm certain of it."

"Come here, you silly man," she beckoned.

He began grumbling to himself as he waddled closer and she took his hands in hers, counting with him. "Anna, Elsa, Maja, Agnes and Olivia," she counted one at a time on his fingers. "Lucas, Liam, Wilhelm," she continued, moving on to his other hand before taking it and placing it on her belly. "And Torbjorn Jr." she murmured finally.

Torbjorn's eyes widened, sparkling with love and adoration. "We have another little one on the way?!" he cried in excitement. "Oh darlin'! When did you find all this out?"

"Just last night," she whispered.

"Last night?!"

She nodded her head. "I can narry believe it. I'm going to be a papa again!" He kissed her fully on the lips, and she had to resist giggling, as his large beard tickled her chin. Weaving his fingers with hers the two just stood there gazing into one another's eyes. "I'm sorry to say, darlin' but I've still got to go."

"Yeah, I know you do," she sighed softly. "I just wish Overwatch would find someone else. It'll be hard to raise our children if you wind up in prison. I know most of the others don't have lives to return to, but you have a wife. You have a family who loves and misses you."

"Aye, and it is why I'm wealthier than the rest of them," he joked. "I swear, love. I'll be back as soon as I possibly can be. This boy apparently is self taught in engineering using my journals and Winston's tutelage. He's in a spot of trouble, and who knows, once he's free from it they may never have to call me again."

Closing his briefcase with a loving smile, he went and gave his wife one last kiss goodbye before waddling to the den. "Come on kids," she called. "Tell your father goodbye before he goes off to save the world."

"Good bye, Papa," they all told him one after another exchanging hugs and kisses. "Don't forget to bring us something back from Gibraltar, Papa," his oldest girl cried, just before the rest of them all muttered terms of agreement.

He gave a hearty laugh. "Of course, I will. Now you all be good for Papa, okay? Anna, you're in charge. Elsa, you're in charge of making sure Anna is in charge. Be sure to help your Mama out with anything she asks for."

"Yes, Papa," they chimed.

With that, Torbjorn left for the airport, a soft smile on his lips.

* * *

As the jet touched down, Dan sighed, pulling his hands from the two girls and unclipping the harness. Normally, Tracer would have made some joke or teased about stowing trays in the upright position or something, but this time it felt as if someone had died. There were no jokes, no laughs...just the crippling awkwardness.

Dan was still sore all over, and since he'd gotten on the plane, he had been nearly starving. As they all climbed out onto the tarmac, Dan heard the entry gate open just beside the. Turning, he saw Jesse, Mercy, Reinhardt, and a woman whose name he did not know. Even still, when he saw Mercy his eyes lit up and he quickly ran to her.

"Doctor Ziegler," he cried excitedly, throwing his arms around her in a big hug, causing her to stumble and drop her things. "It's so good to see you!"

"Hello, Dan," she chuckled, hugging him back. "It is good to see you again."

"I tried to call you. Why didn't you answer?" he asked.

"Dan, I told you I'd only come if you had an emergency."

"I did have an emergency!" he argued.

"Missing me, I don't think counts as an emergency," she lectured.

"I was blind and half-deaf for nearly three days," he stated flatly, causing her eyes to widen. "It was a mechanical error. Machine blasted my head with enough compression to make the capillaries in my eyes burst."

"What?! When was this?!"

"About a week ago."

"Oh, Dan...I'm so sorry. I just thought…"

"It's okay," he quickly forgave her. "You're here now, and that's all that matters."

"Not for very long, I'm afraid," she replied. "I've just come to ask Winston for some help on behalf of a friend. Even still, it is nice to see you, Dan." She pat him affectionately on the back before brushing past him towards the main lab.

"You must be Dan!" Reinhardt declared, giving him an enormous bearhug that caused his spine to crack. "It is always good to meet new family!" he grinned brightly.

"H-hello...nngh...sir," he responded politely, his muscles afire from the pain of the man's overwhelming strength.

"Reinhardt, you're hurting him," the woman beside him informed him, causing him to quickly put Dan back on the ground.

"Apologies, friend. Sometimes my excitement gets the best of me," the large man laughed. His eyes then flowed over Dan's shoulder to Tracer. "LENA!" he boomed, rushing over to her to repeat the process.

"Easy big guy," she gasped as he lifted her off the ground.

The woman who was travelling with them that Dan didn't recognize gave a small chuckle. "I have a feeling he's going to be doing this quite a lot." She smiled to Dan, offering her hand to shake. "Brigitte," she introduced. "Dan, right? It's nice to meet another assistant of Overwatch."

"Assistant?" he asked, shaking her hand.

"To Reinhardt, specifically. And you're Jesse's right?"

"What? No, no. I'm Mei's assistant." He turned over his shoulder to point to his girlfriend and boss, but she was nowhere to be found. "That's odd...she was just there," he commented.

"Ah, well," Brigitte shrugged. "I'm sure I'll get to meet her soon enough. I'd better get the meathead's stuff unpacked. Otherwise, he just kind of throws it all on the ground."

As she left, Jesse just wrapped an arm around his pupil. "Man...I always hate seeing her leave, but I love watching her go," the cowboy commented, adjusting his hat. "I feel I owe you a debt of gratitude, Dan. Thanks to your warning in the desert, I was able to hold off those two vermin...at least for a little while anyway. Appreciate the save, amigo."

"Yes, sir. Anytime."

As they all left, Dan found himself standing there alone. His heart felt like it was breaking into pieces. "Dan?" Hana asked, moving to his side. "Are you okay? What's wrong?"

"I just can't believe it," he murmured. "Mercy and Jesse...they all act like nothing's wrong. I mean, I was worried that everyone would be treating me like I was made of glass. I'd almost wished they wouldn't but not it feels like they don't even care."

Hana threw her arms around him, hugging him close. "I care," she whispered to him. "I care very much." With that, she pressed her lips against his. For a moment, Dan lost himself in the sensation, before he gently grasped her shoulders and pulled her away, shaking his head.

"I'm sorry, Hana," he whispered. "I can't. I'm…"

"I know," she sighed softly. "I can tell you really care about her, Dan. More than you care about me, anyway."

"It's not like that," he tried. "I do care about you but…"

"But you're in love with her," Hana finished for him, offering a weak smile. "I know, Dan. It's just...going to take time for me to let go, I guess." She took his hands in hers, giving a gentle squeeze. "If it helps, I wish you both happiness," she sniffed, trying not to let herself cry. "At least we'll always have Korea?" she tried.

Dan could feel himself hurting all over again. He knew he'd made the right choice, but this was twice as agonizing to deal with in person. He hugged her close. "Yeah," he whispered to her. "We'll always have Korea. I love you, Hana. I'm glad to have you as my friend."

"Me, too, Dan," she gave him another peck before turning to head towards Winston's lab. For a moment, Dan just stood there before turning and heading elsewhere in the compound. He just wanted to be alone for a while.

Off to the side, having set her things down in her lab, Mei had returned, just as she'd seen Dan and Hana kissing. Wiping a tear from her eye, she returned to her lab so she could sit down, and so that no one could see her crying.

To be continued...


	18. Chapter 18

Enraptured in Ice Ch. 18

 **AN: Hey everyone, I know it's been a while. Only two more chapters after this one. Kind of scary, huh? My newest novel hit shelves earlier this week. Warren High: An Elephant Never Forgets is presently available digitally for free on Amazon until tomorrow. I could really use the reviews, so if you would go there to support me, I'd greatly appreciate it :) I hope you guys enjoy the chapter, pretty big stuff inside. I wish you the best of luck in life and literature, and thank you for all of your support. - Kiba**

When Dan stepped into the lab, he immediately could hear sniffling coming from Mei's room. "Mei?" he called confused, opening the door. When he stepped inside, he saw her sitting on the bed, her knees drawn up to her chest, and tears streaming down her face. "Hey," he said softly, sitting beside her, "What's the matter?"

For a moment, she didn't say anything. When his arm went to wrap around her though, she shrugged away, scooting towards her pillows. "I saw you, Dan," she whispered. "You and Hana."

"This again? Mei, it wasn't like…"

"I don't care that she kissed you, Dan," she interrupted.

"You're acting like you care."

"That's not why I'm angry."

"Then why are you angry?" he pressed. "Help me to understand."

She shook her head. "You just don't get it. I'm scared, Dan. I'm scared to death that I'm going to lose you, and that's the last thing I want."

"Mei, I know that but…"

"No, you don't!" she snapped. "You don't, Dan."

"You think I'm not scared?" he scoffed. "Do you think I wanted to find out that Talon's been using me as a puppet this entire time? How do I even know what's really me and what isn't anymore? What if I don't really love you? What if Talon is just using me to get to you someway? You want to talk scared...that's what it is being scared." Mei uncurled her body before suddenly tackling Dan onto his back, holding him down. "Mei, what are you doing?!" he winced.

"Dan, look at me," she demanded. When his eyes met her brown ones, they stared deeply into one another. "I'm stronger than you, Dan. I can overpower you, easily. In a fair fight, I could beat you easily, but even still, I am scared for you, Dan. The thing you became was terrifying, but not nearly as terrifying as the thought that you could become that for good. I swear to you Dan, I will _never_ give up on you."

"I still don't understand," he sighed. "Why are you so upset with me? What did I do to make you so unhappy?"

"You gave up, Dan!" she shouted, her grip tightening on his wrists. "You're giving up! You said goodbye to Hana, Dan. I know you, and I know that you'd rather leave Overwatch for good than risk hurting me, but what I'm trying to tell you is that you don't have to! I don't want you to leave. Even if we can't find a way to stop this from happening, it doesn't change that I love you. So please, don't leave."

Her eyes were glistening with tears again. "Mei," Dan whispered. "Let go of me."

"No," she sniffed. "I'm not going to let go of you."

"Mei," he stated again, this time more firmly. This time, her grip began to loosen. If he would leave, she knew she couldn't just restrain him. Breaking from her grip, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her lips to his in a passionate kiss.

She sighed softly into him, the two embracing one another as they cuddled closer together. "Why are you leaving, Dan?" she gasped when they broke apart. "Why would you give up so easily?"

"I haven't given up," he promised Mei. "I...I don't want to leave Overwatch, but more than that, I don't want to leave you. You're right, I would rather leave than ever hurt you, Mei. If you want me to stay though, I'll stay."

"I do," she said.

He smiled, weaving his fingers between hers as they stayed close together. "Then I'll stay. I promise, I won't leave you no matter what."

She smiled through her tears, kissing him once again. "Did you come in here looking for me?" she asked finally. "How did you know I was in here?"

"I didn't, actually," he chuckled. "I came to get something I've been working on. The week you were gone, I missed you greatly. When I couldn't search for Tracer, I'd be in your lab, and I'd miss you, so I wanted to make something that would help me to remember you."

"I'm sorry I left again," she told him. "I know it doesn't make any sense, but I can't help it. I'm asking you not to be scared that you'll hurt me, but I'm even worse when it comes to hurting you."

"I know," he replied. "That's why I made something I think you'll really like. I'm not very good at fighting, Mei, you know that. But I know that you would do anything to protect me, so I wanted to do something to help you do that. If we're both going to fight, then I want to make sure that you're safe...and that I'm safe."

"What did you make?" she asked.

He nudged her with his nose, letting her roll off of him so he could sit up and offer his hand. When she took it, he led her into the lab before pushing her to sit in a chair. "Just wait a second, okay?" He quickly put a blindfold over her eyes, causing her to giggle.

"Dan, what is all this? Just tell me what you made."

"You'll see in a second. Be patient," he replied, setting her gift on the table in front of her. Standing beside her, he held the microphone in front of his mouth. "Xuě qiú, jīhuó." Mei turned to look at him in surprise.

"What? Dan are you about to hit me with a snowball?"

"Take off your blindfold," he instructed.

Reaching behind her, she let it slip from her eyes, only to find another pair staring back at her. The small little robot was hovering just in front of her face, regarding her curiously. "Dan, what is this?" she asked confused, reaching out to gingerly touch it. As she did, its eyes grew brighter and it quickly snuggled against her hand, one of the three exhausts wiggling like a dog's leg as it did.

"Mei, meet Snowball. I know it's not quite a puppy, but at least you don't have to feed or walk him."

"Dan, this is amazing," she gasped, straightening her glasses. "Did you really make this?"

Dan shrugged his shoulders bashfully. "Among other things. Snowball will be your personal assistant on the battlefield."

"What? Dan he's so small, though...I don't see any weapons on him either. How will he help me in a fight?" She gently nudged it as it swirled around her, nuzzling against her cheek and neck, causing her to giggle more. "Not that he isn't wonderful."

"Ah, well that ties into your other present. I hope you don't mind, I borrowed your journal from Hana, and flipped through it, and I managed to use what you've taught me to make something you may be familiar with."

Moving to the side, Dan pressed a button on the console, causing it to flip over and reveal a large canister and a gun-shaped device. Silently, Mei stood, her eyes wide as she slowly moved to the device.

"Well? What do you think?" he asked.

"Dan...is this what I think this is?" she asked. "How on earth did you...I mean, where did you…?"

"I made a few modifications to the system," he admitted. "I still didn't have the sonic technology you told me about before you left, so I decided I'd rework it a bit. The canister is pressurized with a filter, and with Snowball's help…" Dan whistled, nodding to the weapon as Snowball quickly planted itself on the top of the canister. Suddenly a strange blue liquid began to flood the container. "It crafts a blend of liquid nitrogen while separating the water in the atmosphere into another canister. So...when a bad guy comes rushing up to you," Dan grabbed the gun, leveling it at a powered down drone and pulling the trigger. After a few moments, the thing was encased in ice. "Voila. He stops rushing."

"Dan, this is amazing," Mei commented.

"Oh, it gets better," he beamed.

"What? How?"

"So, by turning the cycler, here," he explained twisting a small knob on the side. "You just point it at a solid surface and…" With a flash, the moisture in the air immediately hardened, causing a series of pillars to launch upward crashing through the roof of the lab, and causing the two to cringe. "Well, you get the idea," he chuckled nervously. "Snowball also comes equipped with a highly pressurized liquid helium dispenser, but since there isn't much helium in the air, it takes some time to load up."

Mei examined the weapon with a smile, taking it carefully from Dan's hands. "You know," she commented. "I bet if we were to add a delay to the trigger here, we could use a stream of water to form an icicle. Then, so long as the base is wide enough to create a partial seal, we could launch it with the pressure from the cannister like a bullet."

"Yeah, I didn't even think about that," Dan agreed.

Mei set the gun back down before turning back to him. Throwing her arms around his neck, she hugged him tightly. "Thank you, Dan. I love the gift," she whispered, kissing his lips with a gentle affection.

He kissed her back, the two of them holding one another as he smiled at her. "I'm sorry about everything, Mei," he whispered to her. "Truthfully, it hurts to see everyone treating me as if I'm made of cardboard. I'm scared...I know they are, too. Even still, is it so much to ask to not act as if I'm already dead?"

"No, it's not," she agreed. "It's not too much to ask for at all. I promise that I, for one, have not given up on you, Dan. I know you will keep fighting until the end...just like me."

"Let's go find the others," Dan suggested. "We need to be briefed on what happens next. And Mei, I just want you to know that if the decision comes down and I'm forced to leave Overwatch, I'll never be far from you."

"If you are forced from Overwatch, they'll have to throw me out, too," she assured him with a soft smile, giving him a gentle kiss on the lips. "But we'll burn that bridge when we get there. For now, think positive thoughts."

* * *

As Mercy, McCree, and Reinhardt entered the room, each had different reactions to the two individuals who had come back to life. Reinhardt started by immediately sweeping each of them into one of his massive arms and giving them both a large hug. "St-stop," Jack pleaded before wriggling out of his grasp. "It's good to see you, Reinhardt, but we've talked before about the touching."

"Oh ignore him," Ana chuckled, returning the hug to the large man. "Jack is just trying to be macho, is all. You know how men are, right Angela?"

Mercy's eyes were wide. She still could scarcely believe it as Jesse simply shrugged his shoulders. "Seems all sorts of dead people keep comin' back. Honestly, I don't really much care if you're here for good or not. So long as when the cards are down, you don't stop me from doin' my duty, then we'll get along just fine."

"What is the matter with all of you?!" Mercy suddenly exploded, causing all eyes to turn on her. "These two were our friends, our family! I cried at both of your funerals! Do you know what it's like to keep going, every day, working in a business that involves nothing short of mass murder under the veil of heroism?! I have struggled for so long, not just because I've been being dragged along by this organization, but because I was horrified by the fact that you two were individuals that I couldn't save! I was so torn up inside! I have cried myself to sleep some nights because all I could think was 'If only I'd been there, I could have saved them' and this entire time you have been lying?! Not just to me, but to everyone!"

"Calm down, Ziegler," Soldier started, but she quickly drew her pistol and shoved it into his face.

"Do not tell me to calm down, you son of a bitch!" she growled. "How dare you? How dare you?! You used to lead us, Jack and you gave it up for what? You're not a leader, you're nothing more than a coward. You didn't pretend to be dead out of honor or bravery. The honorable and brave thing to do would be to accept the consequences of your actions like an adult. Instead, you go into hiding, start ransacking Overwatch's supplies, and now you show back up and you expect me to throw a fucking parade?!"

"Angela," Ana whispered, going to rest her hand gently on her wrist and lower her gun, but immediately, the gun was turned onto herself.

"And _you_! You thought I had a problem with him returning?! You are by and far even worse than he is! You abandoned your own daughter! She has been struggling for years to try to make you proud of her and honor your memory and the entire time you've been doing what? Living it up somewhere with your old fling?" She glared at the two of them. "Both of you should be ashamed of yourselves for what you've done. You shouldn't have even come back at all."

Her entire body was trembling with anger until Jack cleared his throat. "I agree," he commented. "Mercy, we wouldn't have come back if it wasn't _this_ important. I had no intentions of staying once this business was handled. This entire time, I've been fighting gangsters in Dorado, hunting mercenaries in Dubai, and chasing ghosts from my past. Those ghosts led me here, but you don't understand: Jack Morrison is dead. He was executed for his crimes as the leader of Overwatch. I gave up that identity, that life, so that you and everyone else's memories of me would be those of a hero, not those of a failure. Meanwhile, there's still work to be done, so I'm out there fighting the good fight, because an old soldier never dies."

"I, for one, am glad to be back," Ana admitted. "I left because I discovered that Overwatch had been compromised by Amelie via Talon. I didn't wish to drag my daughter through the devastation, so I vanished for her sake. Had I stayed, the world would have undoubtedly dragged her through the mud as well. Even still, I could hardly just stay idle. I've been putting your biotic rifle to good use, Mercy. It has served me well."

"Well, as much as these idle pleasantries are nice and all," Tracer interrupted. "I think it's best we address the elephant in the room."

"Agreed," Dan said behind her, walking in with Mei, causing all eyes to now move to him. "It was you, right?" he asked Ana. "You're the one who's been healing me when I was injured."

"Yes," Ana smiled. "That reminds me, how are your ribs feeling? I know my Fareeha can be a little spitfire when she is angry. I deeply apologize for her behavior. I fear I was not there to raise her in her older years, so I never was able to teach her much outside of passion for one's duty."

"Mother!" she scoffed. "Don't apologize for me!"

"Why not? You did this young man wrong, and you certainly aren't going to apologize, are you? Not to mention, you are lucky that I was there to keep him tranquil. If you'd kept going as you did, I fear he would have easily killed you."

"Mother, I'm a trained combat specialist for one of the largest security forces in the world," Pharah argued. "He couldn't possibly…"

"He could," Mei interrupted. "I've seen it."

Mercy looked between everyone in absolute bewilderment. "What are you all talking about? Dan, a killer? Have you all taken leave of your senses?"

The room suddenly fell into a hush. "You don't know," Tracer murmured.

"I'm as in the dark as she is," Jesse admitted scratching his head. "What in tarnation are you all going on about? I thought this was about some sort of mole or security leak."

"And I as well," Reinhardt added.

"Very well, I suppose we should explain," Ana sighed, dipping her teabag into her cup, her tone now lowering to that of one that was rather stern. "I fear, Mercy, your pupil is not whom he appears to be. The truth is, there is no Daniel McQueen. He has never existed, nor are there any records of his past ever being there."

"What?!" Dan cried. "I understand that I'm a sleeper agent for Talon. I get that they got ahold of me before I got here, but I have a past! I have a family and a home and…"

"All fabrications," Ana frowned. Taking a folder from her bag, she tossed it onto the table. Dan went to it, his hands trembling as he opened it. Inside, there were pictures of him, lying bloody and broken on what looked like a morgue table. "Your real name, is Todd Wilkinson. You had a pretty normal life, but during the Omnic crisis, you were pinned down in a grocery store."

"Yeah, I remember. My parents were there, and Tracer rescued me."

Trancer blinked in confusion. "Dan, your parents weren't there," Tracer explained. "You were alone. The Bastion units had you surrounded, but I dispatched them. Don't you remember?"

"No," he swallowed. "I...I remember. I remember us being so scared, and then I remembered helping you because you lost one of your guns and...and…" He began stammering nervously as he backed away from the group.

"Dan," Mei tried, taking his hand in hers. "Take deep breaths," she told him.

"Once Tracer had rescued you," Ana continued, "You immediately enlisted to join the cause, but before you could even go into orientation, you were captured by Talon, and your identity was erased from you. You were missing for over five years before you suddenly reappeared in King's Row."

"Where Tracer recognized me…" Dan murmured.

"No," Trancer sighed, the realization dawning on her. "No, Dan, you approached me. You sat beside me and ordered us both a drink. You introduced yourself to me again as Daniel McQueen, and you said that a long time ago we'd met. I remembered, so I brought you back to Gibraltar to meet Winston so that I could fulfill that promise to you."

"This can't be happening," Dan gasped, trying to back away. "No," he protested. "I know who I am! I'm Dan! I'm Daniel McQueen! I exist!"

"Dan, calm down," Mei tried, but he quickly pulled his hand from hers, his eyes wide in horror.

"I exist! I have to exist! My parents! My family, they're real, I know they are! I can remember them, they're right there!"

"Sorry, Dan," Ana corrected. "They're not. They were made up by Talon. Todd Wilkinson's family died a long time ago. It was part of the reason Talon selected you as their subject. You wouldn't be missed if you vanished for five years. You were already pretty isolated, having lived on your own for years, working a dead end job at the very grocery store you were attacked in."

Tears began to stream down his cheeks. "That's not true," he whispered. "My parents…"

"What were their names?" Jack questioned.

"What?"

"Your parents, what were their names?"

Dan rubbed his temples, trying hard to remember. If he could find their names, that meant they were real. If he found their names, that meant _he_ was real. But despite that he could see their faces clearly, he couldn't bring himself to remember anything. "I...I don't know," he choked.

"Talon repurposed you. Originally, they planned on doing the same thing to you that they did to Amelie Lacroix. That picture was what they'd managed to do before someone new stepped in on the scene."

Soldier 76 placed a picture on the holoscreen so that everyone could see it. "This woman is another person who does not exist."

"Stop saying that!" Hana finally stated, having remained silent. "Even if Dan's memories are fabricated, he is still a person! He exists! Right, Dan?" There was no response though. "Dan?" she asked again. "Aren't you going to say something?"

The apprentice, however, was staring up at the screen, his eyes wide in awe. "I know here," he murmured. "I've seen her face before. Her name...her name is Sombra...right? That's what she calls herself."

Jack and Ana exchanged a nervous glance. "Yes," Jack told him. "She is an elite hacker that used to be a member of a gang in Mexico that call themselves Los Muertos. The Dead. She joined Talon shortly after they captured you, Dan, and she managed to come up with a solution to prevent them from torturing you further than they already had. Strictly speaking, she hacked your brain. She removed your memories and falsified others to craft you a believable backstory so that you would be able to infiltrate us once we were shut down."

"Talon made you into a lethal killing machine," Ana explained. "While you were out, they instilled within you a prime directive, specifically, your task was to gain the trust of Overwatch and send them information."

"The bugs," Winston gasped. "That's how they managed to get in here."

"What?" Dan frowned. "Winston, I'd never do that. I mean...I love Overwatch, I…" His words trailed off as Ana shook her head slowly. Without another word, Dan sank to his knees, completely dumbfounded by what they were telling him.

"Dan, or Todd, or whoever you are," Winston replied. "I know you didn't know. Don't worry, you're still one of us. Ana, Jack, skip to the part where you tell us how to fix this."

"I believe that's why I've been called here," Torbjorn beamed with a big grin on his face. "Torbjorn, ready for work," he saluted.

"Torbjorn?" Dan murmured, still in shock.

"Pleasure to meet you friend," he grinned. "Lena has told me a lot about you. I hear you're something of a fan of my work, is that not so?"

"I...I think so," the younger man replied. "I...I don't know if Talon made me that way, too."

"Well, let's find out then, shall we?" Torbjorn smirked.

"What are you talking about?" Jack demanded.

"Jack, Ana. I thought you two were dead! I imagine Angela's already given you a stern talking to, so I'll skip the lecture for now. I've got a way to disable that bitch's hold on our young friend here." He clapped Dan on the shoulder. "But I fear it may involve putting you under the knife. You okay with that, kid?"

At first, Dan said nothing. He just sat there, staring up at the image of Sombra in a daze. "Dan?" Tracer called, causing him to blink in confusion. "Were you listening?"

"What?"

"Torbjorn says we can fix you, but you have to go under for surgery. Are you okay with that?"

Dan looked at the picture of himself again, and then to Sombra. "I...I have to go," he murmured before standing up and running outside.

"Dan, wait!" Mei called after him, before rushing to catch up. Hana was about to go after him as well, but Tracer quickly put her hand on the girl's shoulder and shook her head. She knew it would be best if Mei and Dan spoke alone.

"This is absolutely unbelievable," Mercy noted. "Dan, a sleeper agent?"

"I'm actually confused as to the reason you're here," Winston commented. "I don't recall you saying you were coming."

Angela took a sharp breath. She'd forgotten completely in all the excitement. "Right! I came here to ask for help. A dear friend of mine has a mission that he needs help with. He's located Talon's Headquarters, and he and his brother are going to assault the compound."

"What? You've found Talon's base of operations? How?!" Jack demanded. "I've been searching for years and I haven't found a trace of it."

"They attempted to blackmail the older brother. His name is Hanzo Shimada, heir to the Shimada Crime Syndicate. They were hoping to twist his arm into making an alliance, but all it did was manage to piss him off."

"That's Genji's brother, isn't it?" Winston recalled. "You can't mean to say Genji is assaulting Talon all by himself."

"Afraid so," Mercy sighed. "He needs back up, and that's why I came back."

"It would probably be good to help him out," Torbjorn noted. "The surgery I was discussing is rather risky. If Danny were to have his survival failsafe kick in while in the middle of the operation, it could be lethal. This way, we can simply destroy the command center and disable it all together. We could worry about removing the transceiver later."

Jess sighed. "Looks like there's no rest for the wicked."

"We also need to get back my armor," Pharah commented. "If they found the complex, that's most likely where it's being hidden."

"Then it seems the decision is made," Winston noted. "We'll begin planning our assault right away. We'll need all hands on deck, so anyone else you can think of to bring, send out a call for aid."

"What about Lucio?" Tracer suggested. "He's a freedom fighter."

"But he won't leave so long as the corporation is there," Hana reminded Tracer. "They'll shut down the weather device if he doesn't protect it."

"Then we pull him in secret," Tracer replied.

"Start making the calls," Winston instructed.

"Yes, sir!" they all cheered.

* * *

Dan managed to make it to the edge of the cliff before sinking to his knees and vomiting over the side. He was breathing heavily, his entire body trembling in shock. He didn't want to believe it. He couldn't believe it. He had to exist. It was this Todd Wilkinson that wasn't real, right?

Despite trying to tell himself that, he knew the evidence was there. He really didn't exist. His worst nightmares had come to life, and he had no chance of waking up from it now.

"Dan!" Mei cried, grabbing him and quickly wrenching him away from the ledge. "Dan, please! Don't do this! Please, I need you here!"

"Wh-what?" Dan asked in confusion.

"Please," she pleaded. "Don't even think about jumping."

"I wasn't going to jump," he protested. "I had to come out here because I felt sick is all."

Mei gave a loud sigh of relief. "God, you scared me half to death," she murmured. "I thought you were going to kill yourself. I'd be heartbroken if you did that, so don't even consider scaring me like that again."

He frowned, his eyes averting from hers. "Mei, you don't have to worry about me. It doesn't matter, okay? I'm not who you thought I was. I'm not Dan. Daniel McQueen...he doesn't exist. I'm Todd Wilkinson, just an unlucky guy that no one will miss."

Mei slapped him quickly across the cheek, stunning him. "You're wrong! Daniel McQueen does exist."

"But Mei…"

She held up her hand as if she were about to slap him again, causing him to fall quiet immediately. "I didn't fall in love with Todd Wilkinson," she protested. "Todd Wilkinson didn't pull me out of the ice. Todd Wilkinson didn't save my life by performing surgery on me. Todd Wilkinson didn't make love to me and he didn't shower me with love and affection. Todd Wilkinson didn't craft me weapons or say sweet things to me or take me on dates, he didn't do any of those things! Daniel McQueen did! Todd Wilkinson may have been who you used to be, but you're not him anymore!"

"I'm not anybody," he murmured.

"Stop that!" Mei demanded. "You are somebody! You are Daniel McQueen, my lab and research assistant, and my boyfriend, and you swore to me you would not give up, remember?! You said, no matter what, you wouldn't give up and leave me, and if you're saying that Dan doesn't exist, then that means he broke his promise to me and left, and the Dan I know would never do that to me!"

"But, my past…"

"Isn't important," she argued. "We have to live for the future, Dan. We can't change what's already happened. I couldn't fix that my crew died. Just like you can't fix that you were captured by Talon. But that's not important, Dan. Don't you see?" She took his hand in hers, pulling him close to her. "I love you, Dan. Not Todd...you. I don't care what your past is Dan, I just care about us being together. I want to make new memories, not dwell over lost old ones. Isn't that what you want?"

"I don't know," he replied. "I mean, if Dan isn't real…"

" _You_ are Dan!" she said. "I'm not asking what Todd wants. I'm not asking what anyone else wants but _you_ , Dan. I want to know if Dan loves me enough to keep his promise and stay." She began to tear up now. "Please...stay with me?"

Dan closed his eyes in concentration. So many voices and thoughts were racing through his mind, he wasn't sure what to say. He checked his heart, and sure enough, Mei was in it. He loved her. Did Talon make him love her?

 _Talon didn't even know she existed until I pulled her out._ The thought surprised him. It was true. Talon didn't have a clue until they found out via the bugs he'd planted. "I love you," he whispered. "I...I love you, Mei."

"I love you, too, Dan."

He pulled her into his arms, nuzzling with his cheek. "I love you. Talon didn't make me love you. Talon made me, but they couldn't control my feelings for you, Mei. I love you, and I'm not going to leave you. I promise...or my name isn't Daniel McQueen."

She stared up at him with her chocolate eyes before kissing him deeply. He kissed her back with as much passion as he could give her, pressing her back against the wall of the lab. She gasped in surprise by his sudden forwardness, but willingly submitted to his affection. "Take me," she pleaded. "Make me yours, Dan."

"I'm already yours," he told her before kissing her again. This time, their tongue wrestled eagerly as they tried to taste more of each other. They couldn't get enough of their shared essence, and Dan eagerly lifted her in his arms, carrying her inside before throwing her down onto her bed.

She giggled bashfully, her cheeks burning red as she slipped out of her tank-top, before unclipping her bra to reveal her breasts to her lover. Dan began to strip as well, the two of them sharing shy smiles as they continued to remove article after article of clothing.

Soon, the two were completely exposed to one another, and it was then Dan climbed over Mei's body and placed his tip against her pussy. She bit her lips nervously, falling back with an eager gasp and spreading her legs in an attempt to make more room for him.

His hand rested on her mound, his thumb stroking clit in circles as he watched her large plump breasts rise and fall with her heavy breathing. He began rubbing it faster, happy simply to feel her arousal coating his tip, but she gave a tortured whine. "Dan, don't tease me," she begged him. "Please just...nngh...I want you inside of me!'

He nodded in understanding, pressing himself inside of her slowly as he ran his hands up her body. She visibly shuddered in ecstasy when he began to knead and massage her swollen tits. He was moving so slowly! She was in torture from the way he sank into her inch by inch.

Soon, he was fully inside of her, their hips pressed together. He fell forward onto her, his lips wrapping around her nipple. He began to suck on her breasts, causing her moans to grow louder, and when she tried to grasp him to pull him close, he grabbed her wrists, pinning them over her head.

"I thought you could overpower me," he teased her, trailing little love bites up her breast to her throat. She squirmed beneath him, her cheeks a bright red and feeling incredibly feverish. Her pussy was soaking wet now, and when Dan began thrusting, still slowly, he was amazed by how easily he glided into her body. She was so welcoming, he could scarcely believe it.

"More," she moaned. "More, Dan."

He began pumping her faster, his lips crashing on hers as they kissed. He could feel the way her now quivering thighs massaged his member, and he found it to be pure bliss. He, too, wanted more.

Her breasts began to bounce in rhythm with his pumping, and wrapping his arms around her waist, he lifted it slightly so that he could penetrate deeper into her body. It began brushing against her g-spot, causing her eyes to roll back in delight.

As her moans grew louder and louder, Dan began to go wild for his lover. He bit her neck, sucking on it to leave a hickey. She slipped her hands from his grasp, dragging her nails down his back in hopes to hold him deeper inside of her.

When at last she came on his hard cock, he thought he would burst, but she quickly grasped his hips, stopping him. "Dan, wait," she panted, causing him to look at her in confusion. She began to detangle himself from him and at first, he thought she intended to leave him in the state he was in.

Already, the pain of such a thought was agonizing, but she simply slid off of the bed, falling to her knees before him. "I've been wanting to do this for you for a while," she explained timidly. "It's only fair...you did it for me, you know?"

Before Dan could ask what she meant, she leaned forward, wrapping her lips around his hard cock. He gave a sharp gasp, nearly passing out from the pleasure. She began to audibly suck on his flesh, her tongue slathering it with glistening spittle as she began to bob up and down on his shaft.

He carefully pulled her hairpin from the bun she wore and set it aside, sending her brown locks falling down the back of her neck. Stroking them, he let his fingers slip through the silky strands, urging her to continue.

She eagerly obliged, moaning into his cock as she gripped its base with one hand, the other sliding between her legs to begin fingering herself. While her fingers were no substitute for her lover's dick, they still served to excite her more, and that made her hunger even more greatly to make him cum.

Dan moaned happily, his hips beginning to push back against the scientist's soft lips, enjoying the feeling of her warm breath rolling over his most sensitive parts. She began to gag as she pushed even further down on his meat, tickling the back of her throat with his tip.

He was so close! "M-Mei! I'm almost...I'm going to…" She knew exactly what was coming, and she didn't care. He'd tasted her, and she so very much wanted to taste him as well. She fell still, holding his tip just between her lips and sucking heavily on it.

His eyes rolled back as he felt release, spewing long sticky strands of his hot seed on her tongue and into her mouth and throat. Pulling back from him, Mei gave a gasp, her lips falling open to the point where he could see the thick webs of his spunk criss-crossing between her teeth and gums.

"Mei, I'm so sorry," he began, remembering Hana's anger with him, but Mei just stared deep into his eyes and without breaking eye contact, swallowed his large load. The very sight of it was enough that Dan's cock decided it had enough energy for one last spurt which arced to land on the cute girl's glasses.

She giggled softly, taking a moment to lean forward and lick the remaining semen that dribbled out of him. She swallowed that as well before taking her glasses off and climbing to sit beside him on her bed.

"You don't have to be sorry, Dan," she promised. "It was wonderful. Every second of it." She set her cum-stained glasses on the nightstand, her nude body pressing against his as she held him in her arms.

He held her, too. The two clinging to one another as if they were the only thing between life and death. "I love you, Mei," he whispered again,.

"I love you, Dan," she replied.

The two shared one more loving kiss, cuddling beneath the covers and falling asleep in one another's arms.


	19. Chapter 19

Enraptured in Ice Ch. 19

 **AN: Hey everyone! Sorry this took so long to present to you. Don't worry, I've not abandoned the story. I've been spending most of my time on my original work recently. As such, any support that can be provided would be greatly appreciated. You can find the books of my Warren High series on Amazon written under the name J. C. Roberts. Reviews on Goodreads are always greatly appreciated. If you can't afford a copy, feel free to send me a message and I'll give you a free digital version :) I'm also looking for beta readers for my original works, if you're interested. Thanks in advance for everything guys. -Kiba**

"Hey there, cowboy. You're looking pretty worried."

Jesse straightened, tilting his hat slightly to regard Brigitte as she approached him. He took another puff of his cigar, exhaling the smoke into the air before putting it out on his boot. "Nonsense. I don't worry much about nothin'," he argued.

"You know, it's okay to be worried. You said you're his mentor, right? As far as I'm concerned, that means you're practically family. And now this? Heading off to some dangerous mission God knows where, without a clue if we'll even succeed or not."

McCree didn't speak for a long while. Instead, he just stared off into the horizon from the small peak that Watchpoint: Gibraltar rested upon. Brigitte moved to his side, resting one hand on her bare shoulder, exposed by her tank top.

"The boy ain't a traitor," he finally uttered. "I don' care what Ana and Jack say. When I look a man in the eye, I can read 'em as well as if we were playin' poker. Dan ain't the sort to turn his back on others. 'Specially not members of Overwatch."

Brigitte's hand moved from her shoulder to Jesse's. "No one is calling him a traitor."

"Yeah? What meetin' were you listenin' to? Damn near everyone believes it. They even got the kid believin' he isn't who he thinks he is. That sort of thinking is enough to drive a man to the edge. Not to mention, I ain't seen hide or hair of him, nor Mei, since that point. Fer all I know, he's probably down this cliff, and she jumped right after. Stupid as that would be."

"Love makes people do crazy things," she sighed.

"Like followin' an elderly man with a hero complex?" McCree challenged.

She laughed, turning and flicking his hat. "More like stopping a tank to rescue some cowboy going for a joy ride on the wrong end of a motorcycle."

The two shared a smile, before Jesse again looked away towards the waves. "Nah, I'm just overthinking things again," he sighed. "Both of them have far too much sense to do something stupid like that." He gave a slight laugh. "More likely, they're squared away in some recess makin' eyes at each other."

"Sounds nice," Brigitte admitted, before casting him a shifty grin. "Speaking of making eyes at people, I can't help but notice that yours are often wandering."

Jesse was taken aback by her accusation. "What in tarnation are you goin' on about?"

"Oh please," she scoffed. "Don't think I haven't noticed you stealing peeks when you think I'm not looking."

"Ha! You've got quite a bit of an ego for a sidekick."

"So you're denying it?"

"O'course I am. I'm a man, damn it. If I intend on ogling a woman, I know better'n to get caught doing it." Realizing what he said, he stammered. "I...I mean, I ain't be ogling nobody, and I'll put a bullet in anyone who says otherwise!"

Brigitte gave a huff as she stared at him for a moment, before a sly grin spread across her lips. Arching her back, she sighed, "Oh man! I really need to buy some new clothes. I've been using all my money repairing Reinhardt's armor. I'm practically spilling out of this tank top."

"Wh-what are you talkin' about?" Jesse demanded, turning beet red.

"Don't play coy, cowboy. I'm a grown woman you know, and a grown woman has needs."

"Well, yeah but…"

"And what sort of needs would those be that her father can't provide?" a voice asked behind them. McCree wheeled around so fast, Brigitte had to grab his arm to keep him from going over the edge of the cliff.

Standing there, hands on his hips, one eyebrow raised in curiosity was Torbjorn. "Oh nothing, Daddy," Brigitte giggled. "I'm just having a little fun teasing him."

"Daddy?!" Jesse looked back and forth between the two in utter confusion. "Wait...he's your...and you're his…"

"Aye," Torbjorn answered, pulling his hammer from his belt and resting it on his shoulder. "Brigitte be my oldest. Even still, she's my sweet little girl. Ain't that right, Brigitte?"

McCree took off his hat, running one hand through his hair, and using his hat to cover up the not so subtle guest to the party that the engineer had coaxed out with her teasing. "But of course," he replied nervously. "A man's progeny is a man's pride, and no one should fool with a man's pride."

"I'm glad we have an understanding," Torb grinned.

"That's odd," Brigitte commented, staring at her wrist. "According to my watch, we're still in the 21st century. You know, when daughters aren't considered _property_ of their father."

"Aww, Brig…"

"No, no. You're right, father. Of course. I shouldn't be concerned with what _I_ want. In fact, I shouldn't even be concerned with being an engineer. I mean, a _woman_ engineer? _Working_? Who's ever heard of such a thing? I should retire and stay at home like an old maid until you arrange a marriage and I'll just pop out a dozen kids. I'll be the best wife ever. ' _Oh yes, husband! I'll gladly cook your dinner. What's that? You want your pipe and beer? Here you go, sweetie. Oh, and your boots are just filthy! Let me lick those clean for you, too._ '"

"Gah! You're being ridiculous, sweetheart!" Torbjorn complained.

"Oh! I'm being ridiculous? I guess Mom was being ridiculous when she suggested I start reading Engineering books, huh?"

"Jus' forget it!" the older man cried in exasperation. "Sheesh! You and your mother, always goin' on a tirade about this, that, and the other! It's gonna give me an ulcer!"

Brigitte leaned over to Jesse and whispered, "Works every time. Dad hates it when people go on rants."

The cowboy cleared his throat. "Anyway, we were just chatting. Was there somethin' you needed from us?"

Torbjorn lit up in recognition. "Ah yes! I'm looking for that boy. The traitorous sleeper agent that calls himself my protege. What's his name again? Dave?"

There was a sudden flare in McCree's temper as he tucked the hat back on his head. "That _agent_ , who's never called himself your protege, happens to be one of the most stand up _men_ I've known my entire life," he growled. "His name is Dan, and you best not be forgettin' it soon, tiny. He may be a sleeper, but he ain't no traitor!"

"Whoa, ease up cowboy," Brigitte pleaded, grabbing his mechanical arm and holding him back. "Dad, apologize!"

"Woah, I'm sorry, okay? I never meant nothin' by it. I'll go ask someone else then, sheesh." With that, Torbjorn walked away grumbling insults under his breath.

"Sorry I lost my cool there," Jesse sighed to Brigitte. "Maybe I'm growin' soft in my old age."

"Old age? You don't look a day over thirty."

McCree laughed. "Yeah, well...you don't look so bad yourself."

The two shared a gaze for a moment before with one last look to make sure they were alone, Brigitte threw her arms around Jesse's neck and pressed her lips against his. He returned the kiss instantly, pulling her body closer.

He needed comfort with everything that was going on. Sometimes, it felt like everyone had someone. Everyone except for him. Now, he seeked to rectify that feeling.

* * *

"Athena, scan grounds for Dan," Winston instructed.

"Dan's genetic signature was last logged at Mei's lab," Athena informed Winston. "I fear they have shut off my cameras for the time being in order to preserve their privacy." That put the ape on high alert. Was Mei in on it, too?!

"What about audio?" he demanded.

"Still active."

"I want to listen in."

"Winston, I don't think…"

"Athena," he warned.

"Very well," she surrendered. The sounds that began to play brought blood to Winston's cheeks.

"Turn it off! Turn it off!" he begged, just as Mercy came strolling in.

"Winston, have you been watching…"

"No!" he snapped.

When Dr. Ziegler saw the source of the audio her eyes widened and she herself was at a loss for words. "Wait, that was...Oh my…"

"I think it's safe to say that Mei isn't in on it," Winston muttered, climbing up a rope to the main computer.

"Quite. Though, it seems _something_ may be in on Mei."

Winston turned to regard the blonde with a perplexed expression. "You've been drinking," he commented.

"Yes, well...if not now, when else would be a good time to do so, hmm?"

"We need to keep a level head," Winston lectured. "Can't do that when you're sloshed."

"Or being paranoid," Mercy shot back. She had him there. When there was an awkward pause, she wrapped her arms around her waist. "What are we going to do, Winston?" she asked. "Dan has been with us for so long. He's family now, you know? I'm still upset about Jack and Ana. Not to mention that Pharah used to be such a sweet girl, but when she's with Dan, she's a complete monster. Are her instincts right? Should we not trust Dan?"

"I've been having similar thoughts. What if the Dan we know is the construct, and this 'sleeper' part is the real Dan? What if when Torbjorn 'fixes' him, he ends up creating another enemy? One who knows all of our secrets."

"We have to have faith in him." There was a zip of light as Tracer appeared at their side. "Dan is our friend. He's our family, like you said. We have to trust that he's the real Dan."

"How are you feeling?" Mercy asked, trying to change the subject for the hyperactive pilot.

"Fine, doc. You know I'm a tough cookie," she bragged. "I came over because I thought I heard Winston tickling the old pickle again. Guess it was just Dan having a bit of a tea party with Mei, hmm?"

"One time," Winston huffed. "Forget to lock the door, one time."

"It's perfectly natural, big guy," Tracer told him. "Why, my mate Emily and I often like to…"

"Please stop," Winston begged.

* * *

Dan and Mei awoke with a start at the sound of someone hammering on the door. They both gave a surprised squeak, scrambling to grab clothes. "Don't come in!" Dan called to whoever it was outside, but it was no use.

"What do you mean 'Don't come in'? I'll go where I please!" Pharah growled before bursting the door open. Her eyes fell upon Dan and Mei, both now frozen in various states of undress.

Her eyes grew wide as she realized what she'd stumbled upon. The expression on her face was torn between fury, embarrassment, and regret. Mei stepped between her and Dan, just in case she tried to attack him.

"In m-m-my bed?" Pharah stammered.

"In Mei's bed," Dan corrected.

"Yes, but I'm sleeping there!" she argued. "Oh God...I'm going to have to burn the sheets."

"Ah, there you are!" Torbjorn said, brushing past Pharah and Mei to grab the assistant by the hand. "Come on lad, we need to get started on our preperations."

"Whoa! Hold on, let me put on clothes first!" Dan cried in protest.

Torbjorn looked at him confused. "Why were your clothes off in the first…" His eyes drifted past him to Mei, now having managed to get back into her underwear at the least. "Ohhh...I see. Well, umm...Just meet me at Winston's lab when you're done, huh? We can talk shop then."

The short-statured man backed out of the room, his face burning red. "You get out, too," Dan lectured Pharah.

"Ha! Like I'd listen to you! You don't have any authority over me, traitor."

"No, but I do," Mei chimed in. "Call him a traitor again and you can find your armor on your own. You're a guest here, and an overwatch operative has given you an instruction. Follow it or leave."

The Egyptian gave a huff. "I can't believe it. Have all of the women in Overwatch taken leave of their senses? Hana didn't listen, and she wound up heartbroken. If you don't get rid of him, Mei, you'll wind up the same way."

"If everyone else doesn't have a problem, do you think it's possible the problem lies with _you_?" the scientist snapped.

"Everyone else?" she laughed. "The Overwatch team is split in half. One side, the _rational_ side, say we should put a bullet in his head and be done with it. But for some reason, the rest of you seem to think he's worth redeeming."

"I _am_ worth redeeming." With his patience gone, Dan marched up to Pharrah and stared her directly in the eyes. "I used to question that because of you. You'd let me die, if you had the chance. What makes me redeemable is I'd drop everything to save you. Now, if you'll excuse me."

As he brushed past her, Mei felt pride swell up in her chest. "He's telling the truth, you know? I know Dan's not perfect. But are any of us, really? Hana used him as a means of getting into Overwatch. Angela hits the bottle pretty hard sometimes. Tracer has a hard time taking things seriously. Winston has a crippling addiction to peanut butter."

"What about you?" Fareeha asked.

The young climatologist took off her glass and wiped them with a cloth. A soft smile spread across her lips as she replaced them. "Isn't it obvious? I'm far too optimistic."

* * *

When Dan arrived at Winston's lab, the entire team was gathered around, save Mei and Fareeha. Torbjorn took his hand, leading him to the a chair and sitting him down. "Okay, lad. We need to talk about this mission."

"I know. It's going to be dangerous," he said. "But what other choice do I have?"

"It's more than dangerous," Torbjorn explained. "Which is why you're staying here."

"What?! No!" Dan protested. "I can't stay here! I mean, you guys are risking your lives for me! You can't just–"

"Aye, lad. We are. And if you're with us, you'll only be risking our lives more. Talon's got a bead on you, which means that they know where you are at all times. If they see you headed their way, what do you think they'll do?"

The young assistant fell silent as Winston rested his massive hand on his shoulder. "Right now, Dan we are feeding their sensors a loop for audio and visual. As far as they're concerned, you're just tinkering in the lab, listening to some music. If they think you are anywhere else but here, they'll flip the switch, and you'll become a threat to us all."

"But I can't just ask you to go for me! I mean, this is really, really dangerous. These guys are ex-Overwatch operatives. They know your moves, your tech, your abilities."

"Which is why you don't have to ask," Jesse stated.

"That's right," Tracer agreed. "You're our family. I told you I love you, Dan, and I meant it. Right now, it's time to show those wankers what for!"

Even Doctor Ziegler was in agreement. Kneeling beside him, she threw her arms around the young lab assistant. "You've always made me proud. When I left, it wasn't because I was angry. It was because I know that my job was complete. If it really bothers you think of us as doing this for you, remember we're also doing this for Hanzo and Zenyatta and Genji."

"And my dear, Fareeha," Ana added. "Again, I apologize for her behavior. If only I'd stuck around a little longer, she might have learned to better control her temper."

Daniel could feel his tears starting to flow. He lowered his head, covering his face and trying his best not to cry. Everyone gathered around him, giving him hugs and words of encouragement.

It didn't hurt so bad that everyone was doing this for him. The reason he was crying was because of how ashamed he was that he had ever thought that his life was meaningless. Real or not, Daniel McQueen had a family, and they were here, all around him.

"When do you all leave?" he managed to choke out.

"In an hour or two," Winston answered. "The jet is all filled up and ready to launch. Don't worry, Dan. When we get back, we're going to make you a true member of Overwatch. It's been a long time coming now. Just wait. Take a nap. By the time we get back, this whole nightmare will be in the past."

"I'll try," Dan said.

Reinhardt scooped up the much smaller man in his arms, hugging him tightly. "It was nice to meet you, Daniel! Do not worry. Once we have finished, I will show you all of my Hasselhoff albums! Maybe even have Brigitte teach you a few things about my power armor, no?"

"Me?" she scoffed. "Not that I'm against it, but you can't just promise things on my behalf. Besides, it'll have to wait until after my date."

"Your date?" Reinhardt and Torbjorn both exclaimed. Though, the tones of excitement between the two were completely opposite.

Winston cleared his throat. "All right everyone. It is time to pack up. Grab your gear and meet us at the launch pad. I'll get Mei and Fareeha."

As they all filed out one by one, soon, the only person that was left was Hana Song. The gamer hadn't spoken a word the entire meeting. Once the two were alone though, Dan stood from the chair.

She moved to stand in front of him and took his hands in hers. "Listen, Dan," she started. "Again, I'm so sorry about...well, everything. I'll admit, you're one heck of a guy."

He blushed, avoiding her gaze. "It's okay," he told her. "Actually, I'm very glad to have met you. And...you know...all the other stuff. I mean, hey. You never really forget your first love, right?"

"Right," she giggled. The two hugged each other tight. For a long while they just stood there, no words needing to be spoken between them. "Now, I've never really given a speech like this before," she whispered in his ear. "I've never had anyone that I've felt like I needed to say this to. If things go wrong...if I don't make it back or something happens to you...just know that I'll never forget you. So please, don't ever forget me."

"Never," he swore. "You're going to be great, Hana. Overwatch is lucky to have you."

"And I'm lucky to have you, Dan."

With one last sigh, the two parted. Hana gave him a half-hearted smile and left. Now, Dan was all alone. Sinking back into the chiar, all he could do was wait.

* * *

With all of Overwatch assembled, the time had finally come to take the fight to Talon. Lucio raised a skeptical eyebrow at Symmetra. "Tell me why you volunteered to come along again?"

The Indian beauty rolled her eyes. "I'm protecting our _equipment_. That sonic cannon you stole is one-of-a-kind, and as awful as it is being in the hands of a thief, I sure as hell don't want it in the hands of a terrorist cell."

Two massive arms wrapped around them both, as Zarya grinned at them. "And she agreed to help me with my mission. I don't care who gets who, but Sombra is mine," she declared.

"No, she's mine!" Hana and Mei both chimed in at once.

Realizing her snafu, D. Va quickly corrected her answer. "No, she's Mei's. That's only fair. It's her boyfriend she's been controlling."

Mei smiled at the young girl. "Perhaps we're losing sight of our true goal. We're not here for revenge. This is a rescue mission. Not just for Dan, but for Hanzo and Zenyatta as well. Dan wouldn't want us to be more concerned with killing Sombra than we are with rescuing the hostages."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Jesse nudged Brigitte with his mechanical elbow. "Just what were you talking about with that date of yours, exactly?"

The engineer gave him a playful smirk. "Jealous, cowboy?"

"Of course not," he huffed. "Just don't know when you had the time to meet anyone is all. We only came directly to watchpoint."

"Who says I'm not throwing my hat into the ring to vie for Dan's affection?"

"What?!" Hana protested.

"Relax, hun, I'm just teasing," Brigitte assured her. "I'm expecting this guy to ask me out when we get back. Gives him something to look forward to." Jesse turned a deep scarlet, and quickly fumbled for a cigar. Just as he was about to light it up, Brigitte plucked it from his hand and threw it aside with a wink. "No one likes a smoker."

Mercy leaned over to Reinhardt. "I like this girl."

"Ja, me too."

"Aye, she's my pride and joy," Torb agreed.

Doctor Ziegler smiled before turning back to the cyborg beside her. He hadn't spoken a word since he'd come on the ship. "Are you okay, Genji?"

"I am worried, Doct–Angela, but I know that I must swallow that stress for now. I am of no use to either of my brothers if I do not fight with clarity. Their lives are both at stake."

"Cheer up, love," Tracer said. "We're going to win this. There's no way they can stand up to the lot of us."

As the carrier began to land, Winston stood before everyone, armored up and with tesla cannon in hand. "All right everyone. Our best option for victory is a divide and conquer strategy. Lucio, Tracer...the two of you are our fastest runners. Genji, myself, and Brigitte will go with you. Our role will be infiltration and security disruption. Ana, Jack, Fareeha, you're our back up squadron. Keep our exit open and stay on the comms in case you see trouble coming our way. Torbjorn, Mei, Jesse, and Hana, you're covering our flank. Reinhardt, Zarya, Symmetra, and Angela will serve as the line break. Understand?" Everyone gave their affirmations. "Then our mission starts now!"

As the doors opened, Lucio, Tracer, Genji, Brigitte, and Winston charged forward towards the complex. Despite the ape's massive size, they managed to get nearly to the gate before being spotted.

"We've got a runner, big guy," Tracer pointed out.

Sure enough, one of the Talon operatives was rushing for the guard phone to put the base on high alert.

"On it," Winston growled.

With amazing strength, he hurled himself over the tall barbed wire fence. Just as the man's hand grabbed the phone, he was assaulted by two tons of fur, muscle, and armor. He struggled, reaching for his gun, but with one fierce punch from Winston, he was out like a light.

The scientist grabbed hold of either door on the gate and with a heavy screech, he ripped them apart, allowing his team to flood in. "We're supposed to be stealthy, aren't we? Why are you blasting music at full volume?" Brigitte asked.

"Don't you feel it?" Tracer questioned. "That's not just normal music love. It's making me feel much lighter on my feet."

"Plus, this tech is something special," Lucio said. "It sends the vibrations straight to your brain. The only people hearing this music is us. Watch your six."

Brigitte turned just in time to launch her rocket flail outward, slamming it into the skull of an incoming guard. Bursting in through the entrance, they found the long hallway leading to the T-intersection that Hanzo and Zenyatta had been trapped inside.

"Looks like we're splitting up," Genji commented. "Tracer and I will take the right side. Winston, Brigitte, Lucio...you take the left. We will keep the comms up." With a silent hiss, Genji's sword came free of its sheath, glowing with a laser-like edge. "Ready? Go!"

Meanwhile, Symmetra had her beam set to drain. Every thirty feet or so, she'd set up a small cluster of turrets. "What are these for?" Mercy asked, eyeing the small round devices.

"They serve dual functions. For one, they'll alert us of anyone who was able to sneak past the flank somehow. They will also drain them of energy and allow us to dispatch of them more easily."

The pink-haired bodybuilder grinned broadly. "Satya is pretty clever, no? Despite what she may say, I think she enjoys this life of adventure."

"Cut it out," the tech guru protested. "Focus on our mission. Reinhardt, do you see anything?"

"Ja. And it's not good." Sure enough, the T-intersection's wall had begun to crack. Bits of plaster were crumbling to the ground. Mercy gripped her staff tightly in one hand, and held her blaster in the other. There was a high pitched whir that began to grow in intensity. "I know that sound," Reinhardt realized. "Behind me, now!"

The large German man put up his shield just in time for a massive figure to burst through the wall at full speed. The metal fist slammed straight into the hardlight shield, causing it to crack. "This ends here, old man," the dark-skinned attacker growled.

"Doomfist! I thought you were dead."

"Death is only for the body. You cannot kill my spirit." His body launched upward into the air, flying at least a hundred feet upward.

"Go, now!" Reinhardt shouted, lifting his shield upward.

"METEOR STRIKE!" Doomfist came crashing downwards as the other three advanced past the German knight. Reinhardt's shield shattered and his entire body was knocked onto his back. "Hmmph. I have been in prison for years, and yet you are even rustier than I am. I'd hoped for a challenge from you."

He cocked back his fist and punched Reinhardt's helmet, causing it to dent. He reeled back again, and again. "Go!" Zarya demanded of the other two. "I will handle tiny man and his big arm."

"Right." Mercy and Symmetra ran to assist Lucio, Brigitte and Winston.

With the less defensive members out of the way, Zarya turned just in time to place her kinetic barrier around the large knight. Doomfist's strike struck it, the kinetic energy flowed back into her plasma cannon.

The lights began to glow along her back as her suit charged up. "What is this?!" Doomfist demanded striking it again and again.

"Your end," she stated.

He looked up just in time to see a thick orb of energy slam into his chest. Doomfist hurtled off of Reinhardt, who quickly took the opportunity to stand again. "Thank you friend," he gasped, turning to regard Zarya.

She smirked. "No thanks necessary. Let us have contest now. Strongest buys dinner for the weaker."

"You're on!" Reinhard laughed, leveling his rocket hammer towards Doomfist.

Outside, the rear guard team was hard at work. The surrounding guards were advancing on the entrance like a swarm of ants who've had their mound kicked up. Mei pressed herself against the ice wall she created as bullets hammered into the other side.

"Torb, how's it coming?" Mei asked, firing a volley of icicles around the side. Three of the men fell dead, their skulls impaled on the frigid points.

"Almost...done!" He beamed as the dual machine gunned turret gave a satisfied beep to signal it had been activated.

"Perfect timing," Mei beamed. As the wall crumbled down, the turret immediately swiveled to stare angrily at an incoming attacker. With a series of concussive booms, an entire wave of enemies was mowed down.

"So...now what?" Hana asked, as the gun found another target. "It's not as if we have to worry much anymore about getting snuck up on."

Jesse twirled his revolver around his finger with a sigh. "Y'know, the girl has a point."

The climatologist nodded her head in agreement. "I don't like it either, but what choice do we have?"

"Jesse and Torbjorn could stay here, and us girls could go ahead," the younger suggested.

"Sounds like a good plan to me," the cowboy agreed. "I ain't really one for runnin' around myself anyway."

"Thanks, McCree," they both chimed, running inside.

As Doomfist continued fighting both Zarya and Reinhardt with an amazing amount of resolve, Mei and Hana arrived to help.

Icicles and bullets fell in a hellstorm, but Doomfist turned, using his metal arm to send them harmlessly bouncing off. His body wove between swings and shots as though he were a serpent.

"Doomfist to Strikeforce," he called. "I am pinned down by four individuals. Support is needed!"

"Support on the way," a gruff voice said as the room filled with the stench of sulfur. Zarya turned just in time to see a black boot. Reaper's kick struck her hard, knocking her cannon out of hands.

He then turned, firing a shotgun blast into Reinhardt, giving Doomfist the opening needed to knock the old man onto his back.

"Get off of him!" Mei ordered, firing an icicle directly towards Reaper.

The skull-faced man dissolved into a cloud of smoke as the projectiles passed right through him. As he reformed in the center of them, the sulfur stench increased. "I've had enough games. Taste my death blossom. DIE! DIE! DIE!"

As he began to spin, Hana dashed forward in her Meka, opening up the defense matrix. "You can't do any damage if you don't have any bullets!" she boasted. Lasers began zapping left and right as he fired wildly, unable to stop his momentum.

Sure enough, every cluster of bullets fired was destroyed until Doomfist charged forward, slamming into Meka's cockpit. Hana gave a cry of surprise as his gauntlet punctured the armored glass.

His fingers wrapped around her neck and began to tighten. Hana's hands left the joysticks, grabbing his wrist and forcing his digits away from her throat. It was the only way she had to keep herself alive.

"M-mei!" she gasped. "Help."

The climatologist was already ahead of her though. The hum of Snowball's compressor drew the attention of the dark-skinned man at the last second. When he looked up, he found Mei standing on Meka's hood, just before a flood of liquid nitrogen and water overcame him.

His body became encased in ice, allowing her to punch him hard enough that Hana broke free. Reaper took aim at her, but by that point Reinhardt was up and fighting. "Coward!" he snapped. "You've always been a backstabbing rat! You could never face a man head on!"

Gabe continued to dodge the swings from his hammer until Reinhardt slammed his hammer down hard enough that the floor fractured. Reaper and Doomfist collapsed to the ground, giving Mei her opening.

"Go, Snowball!" she cried, throwing him out.

A fierce whirlwind of liquid helium poured forth until both of them were sealed to the ground under a thick blanket of ice. The members of Overwatch were all panting heavily. "That was one hell of a fight," Zarya commented, lifting her cannon from the ground. "But we're not done yet."

"Are you okay, Hana?" Mei asked.

"Yes. Meka is still working, thankfully."

"Then let's keep going," the climatologist said. "Dan is counting on us."

To be continued...


	20. Chapter 20

Enraptured in Ice Ch. 20

 **AN: Well, everyone. I'm sorry to say that this is the final chapter of the story. I really appreciate all of your patience and support over the long time I've been writing this. It really amazed me how many members of the OW community came out to say they enjoyed my work. What's more, I'm glad to have talked to many of you. I know that there are quite a few readers who struggle with Asperger's and Autism in general, and many of you have said that this story has helped with that in some way. I'm thrilled that's the case, and I hope that you continue to support me in future endeavors. I do plan on working on Breaking the Shell which is an AU where Dan meets Hana before he meets Mei. Whatever the case, thank you all so much for everything. I wish you the best of luck in life and literature. -Kiba**

Licking his fingers, McCree turned the page of his gun magazine with mild interest. Every few seconds, another series of bullets would fire from Torbjorn's construct, slaying another squad of Talon mercenaries. "Y'know, I kind of expected this to be a bit more excitin'," he commented.

Torb, who now lounged in a folding chair, took another swig from the cowboy's flask before offering it back to him. "Aye. Tha's the problem with fightin' this drivel. They don' ever use their heads. They haven't even tried to shoot the turret from cover. They just keep running in and…"

There was a loud boom as a rocket suddenly hurtled down from the sky, causing the turret to shatter into a million pieces. "Sweet Mary and Joseph!" Jesse cried, drawing his pistol and turning it to the sky.

Sure enough, Pharah's armored suit hovered above them, taking aim once more with its rocket launcher. "This can't be good," Torbjorn said. The two men dove out of the way of the next missile.

The smaller man quickly scooped up some of the scrap metal and in the blink of an eye fashioned it into a portable concussive resistant armor. Turning his rivet gun skyward, he fired hot bolts in the direction of the flying machine, but it was just too agile.

Meanwhile, on the hill, Ana, Jack, and Fareeha watched the battle unfolding. "That's what they get for letting their guard down," Soldier 76 huffed.

"That's odd…" the older woman murmured.

"What's odd?"

"The suit. It's empty."

"Let me see!" Pharah demanded. Taking the rifle from her mother's offering hand, she put the scope up to her eye to see she was telling the truth. "That woman...the one who hacked that perv-I mean, Dan...I bet she's the one who is controlling the armor."

"What do we do about it?" Soldier asked, but already the two women were sliding down from their lookout and running towards McCree and Torbjorn. The old man sighed. "Of course. No need to tell me the plan."

"Behind you, partner!"

At Jesse's alert, Torb turned firing a spray of red-hot metal into the face of a Talon operative, before using his hammer to cave in the skull of another. "Here cowboy! Extra armor," he called, throwing another makeshift blast shield to McCree.

Jesse peered up from the metal he'd been using for cover to take potshots at the flying exosuit. "Stop!" Pharrah barked, running to his side and shoving him down in the dirt. A missile flew over their heads, leaving a crater in the ground not even a few feet away from them. "Don't damage it! That suit costs more than your life is worth!"

"Not to me, it don't!" he protested.

"I may have a solution," Ana offered, throwing a biotic grenade towards an incoming squadron. As it exploded, they began to cough and wheeze, their bodies beginning to deteriorate. "If I can ground it, can you disconnect it from the network, Fareeha?"

"It shouldn't be too difficult. I'll simply reboot its satellite link to Anubis. If I do that, the guidance system will automatically switch to manual until I change it back. But how are you possibly going to get it down without…"

She didn't even finish her words. Her mother leveled her arm straight at the suit and fired a dart towards it. When it struck, it burst into a yellow dusty powder. Suddenly, the suit spasmed and came hurtling down towards the earth below.

"What was that?!" Torb questioned.

"Sleep dart. It interrupts electrical pulses. Kind of like a localized nanobot EMP. For humans, this puts them into unconsciousness for a brief few seconds. For machines, it shuts down their processors."

"Excellent!" Pharah beamed, running to her equipment. Placing her hand on its chest plate, the suit opened for her, as if an old friend welcoming her with a hug. She immediately set to work, unplugging wires and connecting them back together.

Soon, her body was encased in the Thunderbird, and a sense of pride and wholeness swelled in her chest. Yes! Without her armor, it had felt as if part of her were missing, but now she was her true self once again.

Her reunion was cut short however, when a bullet whizzed past her helmet, leaving behind a long red tracer line. "Sniper! Down!" Ana ordered. Immediately, they hit the deck, until an arrow came flying from their other side punching a hole into their cover.

"Hanzo!" Jesse gasped. "We have two snipers on us now?!"

Ana's voice lost its slightly cheerful nature. "Torbjorn, Jesse...focus on the grunts. Pharah, Jack...take care of Hanzo. This sniper is mine."

"Mother?" Pharah was baffled by her suddenly cold exterior.

"It's Amelie. She's the reason I lost my eye. She's the reason I left you Fareeha, all those years ago. Today, I take back my life and my daughter."

Using her scope, she wheeled out from behind cover. Sure enough, there was the blue-skinned woman, staring down her own scope back at her. Two bullets fired, both collided in the air, turning into a small clump of metal and falling to the sand below.

Soldier 76 nodded to the younger woman, signaling for her to fly upward. When Hanzo tilted his bow up to fire, that's when Jack sprung out. He may have been old, but with the tech he'd stolen and all of the nanobots in his system, he sprinted faster than even a healthy man in his thirties.

However, Hanzo realized his ploy at the last second. When he swapped his target to the rushing man, Pharah fired a concussion grenade, sending the unarmored archer careening back into the wall of the complex.

Soldier in turn fired three helix rockets. Each one swirled towards their foe, striking him with enough force to shred his gi, and send him into a crumpled heap on the ground. Blood was pouring from his chest as Jack leveled his plasma rifle at his head.

When Hanzo didn't stir, he gave a grunt. "You may be able to hack a soldier's body, Sombra...but there are downsides to taking away his mind."

* * *

Inside, Mei and Hana continued forward with Reinhardt and Zarya on their heels. "Which way is it to the computer room?" Mei questioned, though she knew none of her friends knew the answer.

"Well, there's a hole that the guy with the big arm came from," D. Va noted. "Maybe he came from there."

"I'll scout it out," the climatologist volunteered.

"What about us?" Reinhardt asked.

Hana considered it for a moment. "You should stay here. If those two start to come free, you can just slam your hammer down on them and send them back into the ground where they belong. That, and I don't think Meka could stand up to those two for much longer. I'll take the left passage way and reunite with the group there."

"Which leaves me with the right," Zarya said before jerking a thumb towards her chest with pride. "Leave it to me! I'll help forward team clear out their side before meeting back here. Agreed?"

All of the group nodded. "Be careful, Mei," Hana told her.

"I will." With that, she slipped through the crevice, with Snowball cheerfully nestled into the canister.

Mei wandered the halls for what felt like hours. Had she gotten lost? Just as she considered radioing for positions, her eyes fell on a door with a purple sugar skull spray painted on it.

Anger bubbled in her chest. Sombra! This was her room! That rage fueled her as she pulled back her fist, and with an unbelievable strength, punched the door so hard it broke open, revealing the shocked hacker.

"You!" Mei seethed. "You're the one who has been using Dan!"

Sombra's eyes went from worry to amusement. A smile crossed her lips. "Ah. I know who you are as well. You're the one who's been screwing with my toy. Literally." The scientist pointed her gun at the young girl's face, but Sombra quickly raised her hands. "Whoa! Ey! Easy, _chica_. I'm not going to fight you, okay?"

Mei seemed puzzled, but kept her gun aimed. "Why not?"

"Look at me," the hacker answered, gesturing to her neon purple outfit. "Do I look like the soldier type, huh? I mean, you just punched a steel door off of its frame. I don't want to tangle with you."

"Fine," the other woman said. "But I'm still taking you in. You're a terrorist, and you will pay for what you did to Dan."

Sombra laughed. "What I did to him? You mean making him strong enough to save you from those two women trying to attack you? Or helping him to recover from his injuries? All I did to him was improve upon him, _gringa_. If anything, you should be paying me."

"You controlled him like a puppet!" Mei protested.

"And so do you," she argued. "The only difference is, when I play games with his mind, it doesn't emotionally destroy him afterwards. His _corazon_ stays perfectly intact."

The parka-clad woman took deep heavy breaths. Was she right? Had she been controlling Dan? There were times when she'd known that his feelings would play to her advantage. By acting on those opportunities, did that make her no better than Sombra? "Even still," she whispered. "I love him. Which is why I plan on destroying your console once and for all!"

"Hmm...I wouldn't do that if I were you," the hacker said with a cheshire grin. "Who knows what could happen if you did. Maybe he gets stuck in soldier mode forever? Of course, there's nothing you could do to stop me from hacking in him again. And believe me, no prison would be able to hold me."

"Shut it down, now!" Mei ordered. "I'm giving you a chance to surrender, but I'm not afraid to give you an ice-cold lobotomy, you manipulative monster!"

Sombra considered it for a moment before shrugging her shoulders. "Alright. You win, _bonita_. I'll turn off his sleeper cells, kay?" Her fingers reached to the keyboard, typing commands in rapidly.

" _Sleeper agent, deactivated,"_ the computer whirred. " _Enter authorization code to terminated vital processes._ "

"What's that?" Mei questioned.

"Hmm? It's what keeps him linked to the system. You don't want me to shut that down too, do you?"

"Do you think this is a game?" the scientist shouted. "This is his life we're talking about! I know to you he's just a pawn, but I care about him. I love him. So, no, I don't want him to be controlled by you or anyone. The only person that should have control over Dan is Dan…"

"If you insist." That smug grin didn't fade from her face as she typed in the code.

" _Now deteriorating Sleeper Agent's cells. Time until death: T-Minus 10 hours."_

Panic flooded Mei's heart. "NO!" she cried, shoving the girl out of the way and trying her best to access the program. "Please! Please! Abort, abort!"

There was a click from behind her as Sombra leveled a submachine gun to the back of Mei's head. "Sorry, _chica_. Nothing personal. You know what they say, better to die on one's feet than to live on one's knees."

Just as she squeezed the trigger, the nanobots in Mei's bloodstream went into overdrive just as Snowball exploded in a cloud of liquid nitrogen, sending the hacker stumbling back. The climatologist was now in a solid block of ice. It was so thick, not even bullets could pierce it.

She closed her eyes and began to sob inside of her shell. Dan was dying. And it was all her fault. There was a flash of light as Sombra vanished into thin air, leaving Mei isolated and alone.

Her tears fell down her cheeks as she clutched her knees to her chest. Suddenly, her comm buzzed. "Mei?" She gasped. She recognized that voice.

"Dan? Is that you?" she whispered.

"Yeah. Is everything okay? Snowball showed signs that you were in distress."

Mei began to cry harder now. "Oh Dan, I'm so sorry. I messed up. I tried to save you but now...I can't…"

"Are you hurt?"

"N-no. But Dan, I…"

There was a brief crackle in the mic, interrupting her. "I want you to listen to me, Mei," he whispered. "I believe in you. Even if you failed, I know you did your very best. That's all I could really ask for. Remember, this is a hostage rescue mission. Saving me is secondary."

"No," she protested. "That's not not true. You mean too much to me for that to be true. You're my priority! I love you!"

"I love you, too," he replied, almost cheerfully. "But that doesn't change that the fate of the world rests on your shoulders. Not mine. You're an incredible person. Even if things go wrong, things will work out in the end. You'll see."

"You don't understand…" she sniffed.

"Don't underestimate me. I understand far more than you realize. I know I'm awkward and strange. Maybe I _am_ different. That doesn't mean that I'm a child though. All Overwatch members are prepared to face death. I'm no exception."

"But–!"

"But nothing," he interrupted. "If you really love me, you can prove it by completing the mission. If Zenyatta or Hanzo die, the last thing I want is for your love for me to be the reason they do. You're a hero, Mei. So go be a hero."

The ice disintegrated, falling around her like powdered snow. Her heart was pounding in her chest, but she knew he was right. There was still a job to do. And she would do it! For him. "Dan...don't ever change," she said to him. "When I get back, you're supposed to take me on a proper date, remember? So you'd better fight yourself. Don't even think about trying to skip out on me."

When he responded, she could hear the optimism in his voice. "Not a chance. I've already started making a reservation at the restaurant. Talk to you when the mission is over."

"Understood. Good bye, Dan."

"Bye Mei. I love you."

"I love you, too."

* * *

"Athena?"

The computer activated. "Yes, Dan?"

"I know my access to files have been revoked, but could you do me a favor?"

"Depends on the favor," she replied.

The assistant sighed as he picked up the small blue vial that had been in one of the Antartica crates. He knew what was in it: the nanobots that had saved Mei's life when she entered cryostasis.

"I need you to make a reservation."

"A reservation?" she repeated.

"Yes. Please contact the steak house and…" Dan fell to his hands and knees, coughing violently. Blood erupted from his lungs, sending a crimson spray on the tile below. He panted heavily, trying to regain his composure.

He didn't tell Mei, but he'd heard the machine's announcement. He knew this was the end for him. When he said he wasn't afraid to die, that was only partially true. In reality, he was terrified, but only because he knew how much it would hurt the woman he loved.

"I have that restaurant on the line, Dan. What would you like me to request?"

He smiled weakly. "A reservation for one. Put it under Mei Ling Zhou. Give them my card info, and tell them to use it for whatever she buys."

There was a pause before Athena came back. "The reservation has been made. Anything else that I can assist you with?"

He looked down at Mei's journal, opened up to the entry just before she'd entered the cryopod. "Yeah. Can you make me a bowl of hot soup?"

* * *

Just as Mei emerged from the room, she nearly ran straight into Tracer and Lucio. "Mei! There you are!" Tracer cried, taking her hand. "We've got big problems. We need to go, now!"

"What? But, what about Talon…? Zenyatta?"

"He's fine," Lucio said. "The other team got him out safely. Sombra just appeared out of nowhere, and while we were chasing her, she activated some defense measure. This place is rigged to blow in five minutes!"

Fear welled up in Mei's chest. "Let's get out of here then."

"What about Dan?" Tracer asked. "Did you manage to get him free of her control?"

The scientist straightened her glasses, trying to think of something to say. How could she tell Tracer that she'd failed so greatly. Dan not only hadn't been saved, in fact she'd doomed him to death.

"We don't have time to talk," Lucio interrupted. "We can discuss this when we're not about to die."

The three began to run as fast as they could, but already they could hear the panic siren ringing throughout the halls of the complex. Ahead, Symmetra stood, ushering other members of Overwatch through the teleporter.

Mei and Tracer leapt through, followed by Hana and Brigitte. The musician dashed around here and there, blasting his music to rush people to their escape. "Only two minutes left!" he called out. "Everyone out?"

"Almost," Satya answered. "Come on, Reinhardt! You're the last one to go."

The old man limped his way to the teleporter, still struggling to move from the damage that Reaper had done to his suit. The moment he stepped through though, the entire building shook, sending a piece of rubble from the roof and shattering the teleporter transponder.

Lucio and Satya exchanged worried glances. "Well," she chuckled weakly. "I guess this is the end of the line for us, huh? Ironic, isn't it? Actually, I'm sure you could make it out if you hurried."

"And leave you behind? Not a chance."

The woman moved to him, and stared into his eyes. "Listen to me. You may be a thief, and we are enemies, do not misunderstand. However, I would be lying if I were to say that I do not have some respect for what you do. I'm only a piece of a large corporation. Right now, Brazil needs you more than it needs me...so go. I'll only slow you down."

Lucio backed away from her, confused. He'd spent the better year of his life fighting against what Satya stood for, and the people she represented. Now, he could see for the first time the human that was beneath the cold exterior. "You really are just trying to help," he murmured.

"Of course. My priority is first and foremost the safety of the people of Rio. Right now, that includes you. So go."

He took a deep breath, running his hand through his dreads. "You know what? Not a chance. What sort of image would I set for my people at home if I ditched you here to save my own skin?"

Before Symetra could protest, Lucio scooped her into his arms and began rushing through the complex. "Wh-what are you doing?!" she barked. "I'm just going to slow you down! Idiot! We don't both have to die!"

"Funny thing about being a hero, _amada_. If you're not willing to risk your life to save someone else's then you're doing it wrong. Now take notes." He jumped into the air, grinding along the wall at an amazing pace.

Detonations rocked the foundation of the building as the roof began to crumble around them. Ahead, their exit was blocked by a massive pile of rubble, bringing him to a dead stop. "Well, it was a good try," Satya sighed.

"Don't count me out yet," he said, slinging the pack off his back. "You able to make me some tools with that fancy beam of yours?"

"Sure. What do you need?" she asked.

As he began to list things off, she started constructing them out of light and passing them to him one after the other. She was starting to run low on energy. But she refused to tell him that. It was obvious how much this rescue meant to him. Even though she didn't believe they'd be saved, she wouldn't dream of ruining this for him by saying so.

"And...there!" he exclaimed, slinging it back on his pack and tossing the light tool back to her.

The roof began to collapse on top of them. Before Satya could fathom what was happening, Lucio wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her against him. "Wh-what are you doing?" she asked, her cheeks burning pink.

"Amping it up!"

A massive pulse of sonic energy erupted around them. The energy that had shielded the two began to fluctuate before expanding outward. The rubble seemed to over over them, as they stood within the protective dome of sound. Lucio raised his gun upward. With one last concussive burst, the rubble scattered, leaving them ragged, but alive as the rest of the building crumbled around them.

Outside, the rest of Overwatch looked on in awe at the two who were still alive. Symmetra was speechless. "You did it...you actually saved us," she murmured.

"Power of music," he boasted, twirling the sonic cannon around his finger.

Lucio helped her out of the rubble, as their friends rushed to greet them. Hundreds of questions about their well-being were answered in due time, but soon, all eyes once again returned to Mei.

The gloomy expression on her face was all they needed to see. "Well, there's always Plan B," Torbjorn offered. "We can still put him under the knife and get rid of it. I think it's safe to say with the computer destroyed, that hacker won't be activating anything for a while."

"I can't believe they all managed to escape," Hana protested. "Even the two that were frozen in ice disappeared! How does that even happen?"

"Let's just be grateful we're all still alive," Mercy suggested.

Genji approached his brother, who was being patched up by Ana. "You came back," Hanzo huffed. "Glad to see you have not forgotten your honor."

The cyborg gave a metallic sigh. "Both of us have reclaimed our honor today, brother." Reaching to his pack, he removed the rolled up family scroll, still stained with blood, and torn from the fight he had with his brother all that time ago. "That does not change, anything though. I stand by my decision."

Genji extended the scroll towards his brother, who gingerly took it from him. For a long time, Hanzo didn't say anything. Instead, he finally gave another grunt of approval. "Then you are still a fool."

Before the archer could react, the ninja hugged him tightly. Hanzo was caught off guard by the gesture, but with his good arm, he embraced his brother as well.

"I know your pride does not allow you to say the words, Hanzo. However, your eyes have said enough. I know you love me brother, just as I love you. And these people, the ones who've helped us…" Genji gestured towards the others. "You may not believe it, but they are my family, too. You need not branch away anymore. Come with me, brother. Be part of this family."

"Not a chance," he said flatly. "However, they have at least earned my respect. A little, anyway. I think I will take some time for myself. I need to meditate on my weakness that led to my capture."

He stood, giving a weak groan and began to walk off into the sands. Before he could get far though, Genji ran after him and placed his hand on his shoulder. "Wait. Let us at least give you a ride." To that, Hanzo just smiled.

* * *

Once everyone had arrived back and Gibraltar and had gone their separate ways, Mei went to seek out Dan. Winston's lab was empty. As were the barracks. And the warehouse. When she opened her own lab, there was a note resting on her work table.

"Did you find him?" Hana asked from behind her.

"No," she said, examining the envelope. "But it looks like he left this. I recognize his hand writing." She opened the parchment, only to find that written on it was " _Command: Play 15734."_ After relaying the instructions to Athena, a holoscreen appeared before Mei and the gamer.

On the image, was Dan, his eyes dark and sullen. He'd been crying, but more than that the dark bags under his eyes showed just how quickly his health was deteriorating. "Mei, if you're seeing this, I want you to know that this isn't your fault."

Hana shuddered. "What is he talking about?" she asked the climatologist, but the bespectacled woman kept silent. Her eyes were glued to the screen in a mix of sorrow, shock, and longing.

"When Sombra activated the termination protocol, it was signaled to me. I don't really know how to explain it, but I just...knew. That being said, I've taken steps to prepare for...well, you know." Dan wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, giving a sniff. "Before I go though, there are somethings I want to tell you. Things you should know."

Mei began to cry again. The gamer beside her, realizing where this was going covered her mouth in shock. The two just stood there, staring at the last recording of their friend.

The image of Dan flickered for a moment as he looked down at the notepad on his desk. "Firstly, I discovered what it is that saved you when your friends were not. According to your journal, you'd received your day's rations just before cryostasis. With your body temperature elevated, the nanobots were able to survive the freezing process."

Hana's hand sought out Mei's. They searched for any comfort they could find together, but it was moot. They both knew where this was going, and neither liked it. "Dan, please," Mei began, though she knew he couldn't hear her through the recording. "Don't leave me like this. I need you here."

The recording sighed, flipping to the next page. "Secondly, I want you to know that I'm so sorry I have to leave you. I know this is hard, and I know saying I love you doesn't make this much better. But I do love you. Know that I'd never abandon you, just like I know you would never abandon me."

"Where are you?" Mei asked. "Please, tell me where you are. Even if it's just for a little while, I need to see you again."

"I promised you a dinner. And I want to deliver on that promise. You have a reservation for next week at the steakhouse that I first took you to when we met. I'm sure you remember the one. Everything is taken care of, so if you even think about stopping eating or hurting yourself or something stupid like that, you'll be wasting a lot of my hard work."

Hana gave a weak laugh. "That idiot. I can't believe that's what he has to say when...when…" She couldn't even finish the sentence. The thought of his death was too much for her to believe.

He took another deep breath on the recording, before a look of determination filled his eyes. The weak but playful expression he had turned serious. "I promised you I'd never give up, Mei. And this is me keeping that promise." He downed the coffee in his mug before picking up a small blue vial and holding it up. "I know you know what this is," he said.

"Dan, no!" Mei cried, but of course her protest went unheard.

Placing it into the injector, he held it to his arm and pulled the trigger. He gave a grunt, as the nanomachines flooded his veins, rushing to his heart to get to work. "By my calculations, the signal of deterioration has a lasting power of five years. That means that until then the only way to keep me alive is to halt the deterioration until that point."

Hana started to realize what his plan was. "No! That's insane! Mei, he can't possibly–"

"I know what you're thinking, and it's not that big of a deal," his recording assured her. "For me, it will be like no time has passed at all. And I've come up with a way to make it so you don't have to worry about missing me." He held up a small chip. "This," he explained, "is a collection of all my memories, experiences, and personality. Everything I am is on this, and I've placed it in the envelope for you. Here's the kicker. You can place it in an omnic body. But of course, this will only work if their personality chip is already missing or broken. It's simple. Just plug this in, and it'll be like I'm right there beside you again." After a moment, he shrugged. "Admittedly, I'll be nowhere near as fun to cuddle with."

Mei stifled a laugh. Even in the face of death, he was able to make her smile. Looking at the paper, she found the small chip there, and held it close to her chest. "This won't ever be able to replace you," she said.

"Just promise you won't fall in love with whatever robot you stick me in. I'm not against robosexuals or anything, but it'd be a bit of a bummer if I woke up to find that you were dating a cheap copy of me."

"Never," she whispered.

"One last thing," he promised her. "A function I didn't tell you about. Snowball has a camera and microphone for recording. Do me a favor. If you can't find a body for my artificial personality, talk to Snowball. He won't be able to speak back necessarily, but I think it'll help. Also, don't tell Hana, but I used some of the parts from her handheld to make him."

"He did what?!" she cried.

"Kidding," the recording grinned. "But she doesn't have to know that."

D. Va rubbed her eyes. "That stupid jerk."

Dan moved to the side of the room, where a cryopod rested against the wall, the same one Mei had awoken from. Punching in the code, he stepped inside and shut the cylinder. "Athena, end recording," he said. And with that, the screen disappeared.

Hana and Mei looked to the imposing glass container where it rested. They both cautiously moved towards it, and when Mei wiped away the frost, she could see her boyfriend, eyes closed and smiling inside.

Despite the panic and fear that she felt, his restful expression brought her comfort. "I know you can't hear me," she whispered to him. "But I _will_ wait for you, Dan. No matter what."

"And if she doesn't, I definitely will!" Hana chimed in.

"Sleep well, Dan. I'll see you when you wake up," Mei murmured. With that, she leaned forward, placing a kiss on the glass, right above where his lips were. Somehow, she knew that everything would be okay.

* * *

One month later...

* * *

Mei adjusted her canister on her back. Talon had created an EMP bomb that they were going to detonate on King's Row, essentially frying the entire Omnic community. While Torbjorn and Zarya weren't thrilled about the idea of helping them, Mei knew that this could spell trouble. Not just for the Omnics, but for the birds and other creatures in the ecosystem. It may even cause more severe lightning storms for a decade to come at least.

"Come in, Mei," Tracer paged.

"Mei, checking in. What do you need, Tracer?"

"We've got a potential new recruit for Overwatch. He's a bit...odd...but I think he'll be of good use to you on the mission. He should be there now. Doesn't really have a name, but we call him 'Bastion'."

Sure enough, there was a heavy clanking noise as metal footsteps emerged from the subway train. The massively tall Omnic had a machine gun for an arm and a bird perched upon his shoulder.

It was a Bastion model! "Oh...hello," Mei greeted politely. "My name's Mei. It's nice to meet you."

She overed out a gloved hand, causing the inquisitive machine to glance at it. A small welder's tool emerged from his shoulder to give a polite wave to her. Followed by a bunch of mechanical chirps and whirs.

"Do you not talk?" she asked.

 _Beep, beep, breep, boop._

A smile spread across Mei's lips. Her hand went to the small container that she wore around her neck. "You know, Bastion...you'd make a perfect lab assistant."

The End


End file.
